"Stellar performance" - Fans react to Jemimah Rodrigues's 82 off 77 in IND-W vs AUS-W 1st ODI
Jemimah Rodrigues starred with the bat in the first ODI between India Women and Australia Women at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday, December 28.
The right-handed batter scored 82 off 77 balls, hitting seven fours in an innings filled with perseverance. She also shared a crucial 62-run partnership with Pooja Vastrakar for the eighth wicket to help the Women in Blue post a respectable total. Jemimah came in when India were struggling at 57/3 and was the last batter to be dismissed.
For the unversed, Rodrigues has been in sublime form with the bat. She recently scored 73 and an unbeaten 12 in her two innings at the one-off Test versus Australia. The hosts won the game by eight wickets to register their first-ever red-ball win over the Aussies. The 23-year-old also returned with scores of 68 and 27 in the one-off Test against England, which India won by 347 runs.
Fans on X (formerly Twitter) lauded Jemimah Rodrigues for her gritty knock. One user wrote:
Here are some more reactions:
Jemimah Rodrigues and Pooja Vastrakar’s half-centuries help India Women set 283-run target for Australia Women
A clinical batting performance from Jemimah Rodrigues, Pooja Vastrakar, and Yastika Bhatia helped India Women post 282/8 in their allotted 50 overs. Vastrakar stayed unbeaten on 62 off 46 deliveries, hitting two sixes and seven boundaries, while Bhatia chipped in with 49 off 64, including seven boundaries.
Ashleigh Gardner and Georgia Wareham starred with the ball for Australia Women, bagging two wickets apiece. Darcie Brown, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, and Alana King scalped one wicket apiece.
Speaking after the end of the first inning, Vastrakar backed India to defend the target. She also credited Rodrigues as the inspiration behind her third ODI fifty. She said in the mid-match show:
“We wanted to have 270 on the board. The plan was to keep wickets till the end and then think about the final score depending on the situation. We weren't targetting any particular bowler but we wanted to get boundaries off the loose balls."
She added:
"Got a lot of motivation from Jemimah and always wanted to run hard between the wickets. Whatever we have on the board, feel it is enough to defend. Really happy, feel really pleased especially when you score against a team like Australia.”
At the time of writing, Australia are 14/1 after two overs.
Follow the IND-W vs AUS-W 1st ODI live score and updates here.