Jemimah Ends Australia’s World Cup Dominance
Alyssa Healy Calls Australia’s Semifinal Loss “un-Australian” After Jemimah’s Heroics
Women’s ODI World Cup | Jemimah Rodrigues: “I didn’t play for my hundred, I played to see India win.”
Jemimah Rodrigues stated, “I didn’t want to prove a point when I came into this World Cup after being dropped from the last one. “All I wanted was for India to win. Because it’s simple to adopt a self-proving perspective, which is never beneficial to me.
On that night, India made the unthinkable a reality. In the Women’s ODI World Cup semifinal at DY Patil Stadium, India achieved the greatest successful chase in the history of the format by chasing 339 against the all-conquering Australia. At the centre of it all was Jemimah Rodrigues, who was brave, composed, and at ease.
India advanced to the final against South Africa on Sunday, November 2, 2025, thanks to her undefeated century.
Jemimah was supposed to bat at No. 5 behind skipper Harmanpreet Kaur in a rearranged combination. However, the team management altered the schedule, and Jemimah only had five minutes before leaving the dressing room to join Smriti Mandhana in the middle after taking a shower.
She grinned and continued, “So, I just gave myself some time.” “I questioned, ‘Is it the same batting order?’ after taking an ice bath in the shower. Yes, they replied. “You are going to go now,” they said in another message.
I said, “Okay,” but at that moment I was taking a shower. After getting dressed and eating something since I hadn’t eaten, I wondered how I would play for a Mumbai squad once I left Mumbai. How would I proceed there?
The elevation was a test of flexibility rather than merely a tactical adjustment. However, Jemimah was able to quickly adapt because to her preparedness and mental clarity. “I was aware that I had to be present and establish a collaboration with Smriti, Harman, or anyone who entered the room. I wanted to be present to see this match through to the end because I understood how significant it was. I simply told myself, “Stand here, just stand here, amazing things can happen.”
Just stand here and give God a chance; you never know what might occur at the conclusion of the game.
She refused to let milestones overwhelm her as the innings progressed. “I didn’t celebrate when I became 50 or 100. Looking at our accommodation here on the stadium grounds, I wondered what would make me happier in the morning. A fifty? A hundred? No. India would prevail. I wanted to feel like we were in the final when I woke up and slept. That gave me motivation.
Jemimah understood that the target was within reach even before India’s innings started, and in the final ten overs of Australia’s essay, India pulled things back.
“I thought Australia was 30 runs short based on how they started,” she remarked. “I knew they could have continued given their start, but they didn’t. Any score is achievable with DY Patil’s pitch. All I knew was that it was my responsibility to be there. If I am present, there will be runs.
Jemimah was still thinking about what she had done at the end of the night. She saw more than just numbers in the DY Patil throng; to her, it represented healing, optimism, and homecoming.
She said quietly, “I haven’t let it sink in yet.” “Everything seems to have been prepared for this.
Although the past month wasn’t easy, it helped me get ready for this. I’m appreciative to those who had faith in me when I didn’t. I couldn’t have completed this on my own.
Jemimah Rodrigues’ comments, which conveyed the emotion of someone who had battled, fallen, and risen again, were the beating heart of India’s greatest pursuit as the country advanced to yet another World Cup final.
Now let’s talk about Australia:
Allysa Healy considers the semifinal sting as “a little bit un-Australian.”
The finest way to describe Australia’s shocking loss to India in the World Cup semifinals was by Alyssa Healy. “Un-Australian,” she described it. Because it was accurate in multiple ways, the word struck. The seven-time champions amassed 338 on the big stage, but they inexplicably fell short by runs after Phoebe Litchfield’s outstanding century had positioned them for supremacy.
The lines faltered with the ball. Smriti Mandhana was removed by one of the many deliveries that drifted down the leg side. The lack of the “clutch gene” in the field was the most shocking of all.
Jemimah Rodrigues, whose 127* would be one of the most pivotal World Cup knocks by an Indian in a World Cup knockout match, was reprieved by Healy and then Tahlia McGrath, who turned down easy opportunities.
As a result, women’s cricket saw a record pursuit that made it possible for a new champion to be crowned on Sunday, November 2. Additionally, it meant that Australia had lost two World Cup semifinals in less than a year. They had not advanced to the final of successive ICC competitions for the first time since the T20 World Cup was introduced in 2009.
But they will undoubtedly be perplexed by this one.
Despite going undefeated in 16 ODIs and winning the World Cup’s league stage, Australia managed to falter at the penultimate obstacle. In the immediate aftermath, Healy had the unpleasant responsibility of trying to make sense of it all as captain.
“I think ultimately we just weren’t sharp enough, probably today, probably in all three facets, definitely to give ourselves the opportunity to win that semi-final,” Healy stated. “I believe we did a good job of persevering. We failed to take advantage of the many chances we generated. I’m probably sitting here feeling let down because we kind of did that to ourselves. Nothing about the Indian performance should be discounted.
They performed pretty well, in my opinion. However, there is a small part of us disappointing ourselves.
“I believe we could have been a little bit better and, ironically, gotten a few more after winning the toss and batting first. Thus, I believe that around the halfway point, we felt that everything had gone well. We believed that we still had a significant task to complete with the ball, but in the end, I believe that we occasionally gave up a bit too much rubbish to hit and most likely failed to take advantage of the openings that we did create. Thus, it’s unsatisfactory. Being less clinical than we usually are seems a little un-Australian.
