Under the blinding floodlights of DY Patil Stadium on Sunday, as fireworks streaked against the Mumbai sky, a starry-eyed 25-year-old woman, in her blue jersey, quietly lifted her phone, and captured a selfie with her gold medal, freezing a moment that shimmered far beyond victory.
As chants of “India, India!” thundered through the stands and every corner of the nation, the medal around Jemimah Rodrigues' neck gleamed like a promise fulfilled.
India, on November 2, finally lifted their maiden ICC Women’s World Cup trophy, defeating South Africa by 52 runs in a pulsating final.
For Jemimah, who finished the tournament as one of India’s most influential players, the win was something deeply personal -- the closing of a circle that had begun in the narrow lanes of Bandra. Just four days earlier, she had played one of the greatest knocks in Indian women’s cricket history, an unbeaten 127 in the semifinal against Australia that turned nerves into nostalgia, pressure into poetry.
“It was really hard this last month. I’ve cried almost every day. I was going through anxiety and not doing well mentally,” she admitted afterward. “I just kept reminding myself of one verse, to stand still and let God fight for me.”
That verse became her armour.
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Her story began years ago in Mumbai’s Bhandup, where her father, Ivan Rodrigues, a school cricket coach, formed a girls’ team solely to give his daughter a chance to play. Her brothers, Enoch and Eli, bowled to her endlessly on cracked roads, teaching her to pick length before fear. From there, Jemimah’s career rose fast until the heartbreak of 2022, when she was dropped from India’s World Cup squad.
The snub cut deep.
Nonetheless, the girl who once watched Sachin Tendulkar lift the 2011 World Cup from her Bandra balcony refused to give up on her own dream. She worked on her game, her faith, her calm. And when the chance came, a last-minute promotion to No. 3 in the semifinal, she met it with poise and power. Her partnership with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (167 runs) was a masterclass in intent wrapped in restraint.
“Jemi always takes ownership,” Harmanpreet said later. “She’s mature beyond her years....someone who believes every time she walks out, she can win a game for India.”
Beneath those lights, she wasn’t just celebrating a win. It was the image of redemption, faith, and unshakable resilience of a cricketer who turned her battles into belief to script one of Indian cricket’s most stirring nights.
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