A day prior to the Women’s World Cup semi-final against Australia, no one gave Harmanpreet Kaur’s India a chance of upstaging the seven-time champions at the Dr DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. However, the game day once again proved that nothing can be predicted in sport, as what matters is how the team performs on the big day. Jemimah Rodrigues played out of her skin to produce one of the greatest white-ball knocks ever in women’s cricket to help India script a record run chase to enter the final of the eight-team tournament.
Rodrigues, 25, played an unbeaten 127-run knock off 134 balls to help India chase down 339 with five wickets in hand and nine balls to spare as the hosts entered their third Women’s World Cup final and first after the 2017 edition. The enormity of beating Australia was such that it prompted reactions from several legends of the game, including Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, and Gautam Gambhir.
Rohit, who was recently adjudged as Player of the Series for his 202-run haul against Australia, took to Instagram Stories to share a picture of India’s celebration, and wrote, “Well done Team India.”
Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar went into overdrive as he applauded Jemimah and Harmanpreet for their knocks under immense pressure against Australia.
“Fabulous victory! Well done @JemiRodrigues and @ImHarmanpreet for leading from the front. Shree Charani and @Deepti_Sharma06, you kept the game alive with the ball. Keep the tricolour flying high,” Sachin wrote on X.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly hailed the team’s win as a testament to the sport’s continued growth in the country. “Incredible stuff from the girls .. how good they have become in the last 5 years .. one more to go .. just outstanding @BCCIWomen,” he wrote.
Article source: hindustantimes.com
