The Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman, Arun Dhumal, feels that Jemimah Rodrigues, with her splendid 127 (134) in the Women’s World Cup semi-final against Australia, “replayed” the famous Kapil Dev innings from the 1983 World Cup against Zimbabwe
The Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman, Arun Dhumal, feels that Jemimah Rodrigues, with her splendid 127 (134) in the Women’s World Cup semi-final against Australia, “replayed” the famous Kapil Dev innings from the 1983 World Cup against Zimbabwe. In the pulsating semi-final at the DY Patil Stadium on Thursday, Australia blazed their way to a daunting 338, leaving India to chase down the highest target in the history of the Women’s World Cup. Jemimah kept India in the hunt after the hosts lost Smriti Mandhana (24) and Shafali Verma (10) in the powerplay. From 59/2, Jemimah took India past the finish line. With fortune on her side, she saw two catching opportunities go down while pursuing the 339-run target.
She found ideal support from skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (89), Deepti Sharma (24), and Richa Ghosh (26) to script a new record for the highest successful run chase in Women’s World Cup history. For Dhumal, Jemimah “replayed” Kapil’s unbeaten 175 against Zimbabwe in the 1983 World Cup—a performance that wasn’t televised. During Kapil’s memorable knock, India was struggling at 17/5 before he delivered a batting masterclass.
During India’s group-stage encounter against Australia, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side suffered a defeat despite posting 330 on the board.
The IPL chairman classified Jemimah’s memorable outing as the best in the ongoing marquee event.
“It was phenomenal to watch Jemimah—the way she played yesterday. In fact, none of us remembers Kapil Dev’s innings against Zimbabwe. So she replayed that innings, you know, that was played in the quarter-final. Jemimah did what Kapil Paji did long back, which was unfortunately not broadcast—but this, fortunately, was,” Dhumal said while speaking exclusively to ANI.
Jemimah didn’t have a dream start to the tournament, notching scores of 0, 32, 0, and 33 before being dropped for the group-stage fixture against England in Indore. The local hero from Mumbai returned to the final XI in the semi-final and enchanted her home crowd with a performance to remember.
“The entire country and the entire world watched how Jemimah led the team and the way she played when the team was down. Smriti had been in phenomenal form in this tournament, but we lost a wicket—and the way Jemimah played under pressure was incredible. It was a phenomenal innings, and she fought till the finish. The way she played this winning knock outshone every other innings in this tournament,” Dhumal added.
