T20 World Cup 2023: Jemimah Rodrigues to let ‘win over Pakistan Just Sink in’, says ‘Tournament has Just Begun’

Team India batter Jemimah Rodrigues came up with a crucial unbeaten 53 off 38 balls and match-winning stand with Richa Ghosh to start her team’s campaign on a winning note against arch rivals Pakistan Women cricket team in the ongoing Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 in Cape Town on Sunday (February 12). Harmanpreet Kaur’s India hammered Bismah Maroof’s Pakistan by seven wickets in their opening encounter of the tournament.

“Richa and I had a good partnership against Bangladesh too. This innings means a lot to me. I hadn’t been getting scores for a long time,” said Jemimah Rodrigues after bagging the ‘Player of the match’ award in the post-match presentation ceremony.

.@JemiRodrigues scored a stunning 5_3_* in the chase & bagged the Player of the Match award as #TeamIndia commenced their #T20WorldCup campaign with a win over Pakistan _ _

Scorecard __ https://t.co/OyRDtC9SWK #INDvPAK pic.twitter.com/JvwfFtMkRg — BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) February 12, 2023

India at one stage were in a spot of bother at 93/3 after the dismissal of captain Harmanpreet Kaur in 13.3 overs but Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh held their nerves to take the team beyond the finish line. “I actually don`t know what to say. I knew we had to build partnerships. I knew if we take it deep we will win,” said Rodrigues.

Richa Ghosh too played a brilliant knock of 31 not out off 20 balls to help India chase down the target from a tricky situation where the team needed 41 runs to win off four overs. “We were just taking it over by over. If we knew we were there till the end, we would win. We knew they would bowl a bad ball eventually and we would capitalise. It was a difficult wicket but being set helped,” explained Rodrigues.

India have made a winning start to their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 campaign. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side will now face West Indies in their next match on Wednesday (February 15). “This was a team effort. We will let the win sink in, but the tournament has just begun. We want to do simple things correctly. The results will take care of themselves,” said Rodrigues.

With only two teams from each group making it to the semi-final, the win against Pakistan has made the road ahead for Harmanpreet Kaur-led side much easier.

(with ANI inputs)