Jemimah Rodrigues, India’s top batter, burst into tears after leading her team to the 2025 World Cup final with a historic victory over Australia in the semifinal at the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Thursday, October 30. Rodrigues, who led the squad with 127 points, hugged her teammates and wept tears of delight.
Coming to the crease in only the second over of a high-pressure run chase of 339, the right-handed hitter hit 14 boundaries in her undefeated 134-ball 127. She formed a match-defining partnership of 167 with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (89) and stayed to the end as India broke the record for the most runs chased in women’s ODI cricket, defeating the defending champions by five wickets.
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THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS! 💙🥹
👉 3rd CWC final for India
👉 Highest-ever run chase in WODIs
👉 Ended Australia's 15-match winning streak in CWC#CWC25 Final 👉 #INDvSA | SUN, 2nd Nov, 2 PM! pic.twitter.com/8laT3Mq25P
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) October 30, 2025Jemimah Rodrigues rightly received Player of the Match recognition for her nerve-racking knock.
“It was really hard this last month” – Jemimah Rodrigues
During the post-game presentation, the 25-year-old discussed how she was dropped from the T20 World Cup roster last month and thanked God for taking care of everything. She said:
“I want to thank Jesus, could not do this on my own. I want to thank my mom, dad and coach and every single person who believed in me. It was really hard this last month, it feels like a dream and it still has not sunk in. Last year, I was dropped from this World Cup. I was in good form. But things kept happening back-to-back, and could not control anything. I have almost cried every day through this tour. Not doing well mentally, going through anxiety. I knew I had to show up, and God took care of everything.”
Jemimah Rodrigues
The Women in Blue will meet South Africa in the final on Sunday, November 2, at Navi Mumbai’s D.Y. Patil Stadium. South Africa beat England by 125 runs in the first semifinal, with skipper Laura Wolvaardt scoring 169.
