Is there anything that Jemimah Rodrigues cannot do? As Amanjot Kaur scored the winning runs during the Women’s World Cup 2025 semifinal against Australia on Thursday, the relief was clear on Jemimah’s face. With a stunning knock of 127, she did her job to perfection and as her teammates ran onto the ground to embrace the 25-year-old, she broke down into tears. It has not been an easy journey for the cricketer who had to constantly stage a comeback. She was not included in the 2021 World Cup squad and even during the ongoing competition, she was the one who had to make way for an additional bowling option against England following two losses for India. Even on Tuesday, she was given a new role of batting at No. 3 but the youngster passed the test with flying colours.

Even before taking up cricket, Jemimah was already excelling in a number of sports. She represented Maharashtra in U-17 field hockey and even played football and basketball at school. It was a tough choice for her to leave hockey for cricket but the fact that she was selected in the U-19 state cricket team as a 13-year-old once again proved her immense talent.

The athleticism was in full display as she played her new role to perfection. Although touted as the possible successor to Mithali Raj over the years, she rarely batted at No. 3 but that was the responsibility assigned to her. While her 127-run knock was adorned with 14 fours, it was the singles and doubles that proved to be most crucial.

Chasing a target of 339 in a high-pressure match against an opponent like Australia is never easy but Jemimah made sure that the scorecard kept ticking. A 167-run partnership with Harmanpreet Kaur followed and even when India lost a few wickets, the 25-year-old stood tall.

Over the years, Rodrigues has become a crowd favourite for her enthusiastic presence on the field and her dance videos regularly went viral on social media. However, such was the situation that she did not even celebrate her milestone properly during the match against Australia.

“When I reached my fifty, when I reached my 100, I didn’t celebrate, because, at that moment I looked at our hotel right here, and I said [to myself]: tomorrow morning, what would make me happier? Would it be a fifty? Would it be a hundred? No, it would be India winning. And I want to sleep with that smile, that we are playing the finals, and I’m waking up to get ready for the finals,” she said after the match.

It was only after the winning runs were scored that she finally broke down and soaked in the adulation from the crowd. A truly emotional moment for a cricketer who went through her fair share of highs and lows but emerged as a national hero who took India one match closer to becoming world champions.