Jemimah Rodrigues has never hidden her enthusiasm for the game, yet the days leading into her unbeaten 127 against Australia told a different, quieter story. The 25-year-old revealed she had been “going through a lot of anxiety at the starting of the tournament”, describing long phone calls home, tears in the team hotel and an overwhelming sense of numbness.
“I will be very vulnerable here because I know if someone is watching, this might be going through the same thing and that’s my whole purpose of saying it,” she said, voice cracking during the post-match press briefing. “Nobody likes to talk about their weakness. I was going through a lot of anxiety at the starting of the tournament.”
The semi-final hundred has already been replayed countless times: Rodrigues arrived at the crease in the second over with India chasing 339, barely mis-hit a ball, and walked off unbeaten more than three hours later as India reached their second consecutive World Cup final. Yet, as she was keen to explain, the past fortnight had been anything but smooth.
Ducks in her first two innings, a surprise omission against England to accommodate an extra bowler, and the constant churn of a global tournament left her confidence fragile. “That really hit me,” she admitted. “When you are dropped, you have a lot of doubts because I always want to contribute to the team. But that day, I couldn’t do much sitting out. And then, when you come back in, it’s a lot more pressure.”
Rodrigues credits a small circle of family and team-mates for steadying her. Calls to parents Ivan and Lavita, quiet knocks on room-mate Arundhati Reddy’s door, and the reassuring presence of senior opener Smriti Mandhana all feature heavily in her retelling.
“There was Arundhati … I think almost every day I have cried in front of her,” she laughed, half-apologetically. “Later I was joking, saying ‘you don’t come in front of me, I will start crying.’ But she checked on me every single day.”
“There was Smriti … a few of the net sessions she was just standing there. Even yesterday she came, she just stood there, just because she knows that her presence is important for me.”
“There has been Radha [Yadav], who has always been there, taking care of me. I am so blessed to have friends, I can call family, that I didn’t have to go through it alone. And it’s okay to ask for help.”
Mental-health conversations have gained traction across elite sport, yet they can still feel uncomfortable in the hyper-competitive world of international cricket. Rodrigues’s willingness to speak publicly—while the emotion of a career-defining innings was still raw—may help normalise such discussions in the women’s game. Sports psychologist Dr Shilpa Patel, who has worked with several national athletes, believes visibility matters. “When a high-profile player says, ‘I was anxious and I asked for help’, it gives permission to everyone else in the system—juniors, coaches, administrators—to take the same step,” she told this writer.
From a cricketing angle, the knock was notable for its clarity. Rodrigues scored at better than a run-a-ball without resorting to high-risk strokes, using deft angles behind square and a late dab through third to release pressure. Her stand of 178 with captain Harmanpreet Kaur transformed the equation and exposed Australia’s fifth-bowling slot, a mild weakness that had been papered over earlier in the competition. Former India opener Aakash Chopra praised the tempo. “She didn’t slog; she manipulated the field,” he said on television commentary. “That is high-class batting.”
The innings also justified India’s broader strategy. Head coach Amol Muzumdar had spoken of wanting one of the top four to bat through; Rodrigues did exactly that, and her ability to accelerate in the closing ten overs reduced the ask on the finishers. “Sometimes all you need to do is, just hang in there and, things fall into place,” she reflected. “I am very grateful for the people who believed in me when I couldn’t, and were there for me and understood me because I couldn’t do this on my own.”
Away from the numbers, the semi-final served as a timely reminder that athletes—no matter how polished they appear—remain human. Rodrigues’s message, delivered between tears and laughter, was simple enough: performance and wellbeing are not separate conversations. The final awaits, but for now, her most significant contribution may be the invitation she extended to anyone listening: it is, indeed, okay to ask for help.
