Following India’s groundbreaking World Cup triumph, batter Jemimah Rodrigues took to social media on Monday morning to share candid and heartwarming pictures. The photos captured her and teammates Smriti Mandhana, Arundhati Reddy, and Radha Yadav sleeping soundly, clutching the coveted World Cup trophy – a testament to their maiden world title victory.
In the initial post, Jemimah shared a delightful image with India’s vice-captain, Smriti Mandhana, accompanied by the joyful caption, “Good morning world.”
Jemimah Rodrigues shared heartfelt images with the teammates. (Instagram)
A subsequent photo expanded the sleepy celebration to include Arundhati Reddy and Radha Yadav, with Jemimah playfully questioning, “Are we still dreaming?” These images perfectly encapsulated the sheer joy and disbelief of achieving a lifelong dream.
Jemimah Rodrigues played a pivotal role in India’s journey to glory, delivering a sensational, unbeaten knock of 127 runs. This champion’s innings enabled India to successfully chase down a formidable target of 339 against Australia in the semi-final, marking one of the greatest performances in World Cup knockout history.
Australia had set a challenging score of 338, propelled by Phoebe Litchfield’s century and valuable fifties from Ellyse Perry and Ashleigh Gardner. India, after losing both openers early and slipping to 59/2, mounted an incredible comeback. The resilient partnership between Jemimah Rodrigues (127*) and Harmanpreet Kaur (89) for 150 runs put India firmly in contention. Despite a few late wickets, Rodrigues held her nerve, guiding India home with a few balls to spare in what became the highest-ever successful chase in a World Cup knockout match.
India then faced hosts South Africa in the final in Mumbai on Sunday. Both teams were vying for their first women’s one-day showpiece title in the tournament’s 52-year history. India, having been runners-up twice before in 2005 and 2017, finally clinched the trophy after defeating seven-time champions Australia in a thrilling semi-final encounter.
This historic ODI World Cup victory is anticipated to be a monumental turning point for women’s cricket in India, inspiring countless young girls across the nation to pursue the sport with renewed passion and ambition.