Jemimah Rodrigues-starrer Team India kicked off their T20 World Cup campaign on high as they beat arch-rivals Pakistan by 7 wickets, on Sunday evening in Cape Town. The middle-order batter played a sensational unbeaten knock of 53 runs off just 38 deliveries to guide India home.
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Meanwhile, she credited former Indian skipper and legendary batter Virat Kohli for her match-winning knock against Pakistan. “India vs Pakistan is always a little bit more special. We spoke about it in the team meeting. Growing up we always watched these matches. I remember watching the match at the MCG where Virat Kohli played such an extraordinary knock,” Rodrigues said after the match.
She further revealed that girls wanted to put their first win on board and start their World Cup campaign on high. Rodrigues, who was struggling to get some runs under her belt, was the biggest takeaway for Harmanpreet Kaur. In her last ten T20 internationals, Rodrigues had just one 30-plus score and her knock against Pakistan was a crucial one.
“This innings means a lot to me. I had not been getting scores for a long time, as a batter when you are not getting runs, it's definitely not an enjoyable time. I was working really hard in the nets, I knew I was ticking all the right boxes, putting in the effort and going to the gym,” she added. Rodrigues concluded by claiming that it was a very tough period when she was not getting scores, but she is ‘thankful’ that it came at the ‘right time.’
Apart from Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh also made a valuable contribution with the bat as she remained unbeaten at 30. However, Rodrigues was adjudged Player of the Match award for her match-winning knock.
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