New Delhi, May 29 (IANS) India batter Jemimah Rodrigues has revealed the emotional turmoil she went through during the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025, admitting that the pressure of performing at a home tournament and being dropped from the playing XI for a crucial match left her broken inside.

Speaking on JioStar’s ‘Unstoppable’ ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, Jemimah reflected on the difficult phase she endured even before the tournament began, as expectations and pressure started taking a toll on her mentally.

“For some reason, even before the World Cup started, I was not doing well mentally. Maybe it was because it was a home World Cup, and with the expectations that come with it. And it being a World Cup, the pressure doubles,” Jemimah said.

“In the very first match, I got out for a duck off the first ball itself. That really broke me; it crushed me. The worst part was that it started affecting my fielding as well. I am someone who enjoys fielding, but I was putting so much pressure on myself that I wasn’t able to move the way I normally do. I made a few misfields, which I usually wouldn’t,” she added.

India’s World Cup campaign had reached a critical stage after consecutive defeats left their semifinal hopes hanging by a thread. Jemimah revealed that a quickfire knock against Australia in the league stage helped her regain some confidence before the all-important clash against England.

“Then came the league game against Australia, where I scored an impactful 33-odd at a good strike rate. That gave me some confidence, and I told myself, ‘Okay, fine. The England game is very important. Let’s do whatever it takes to win against England,’” she said.

“I really wanted to do it for the team because the World Cup was at stake, and we had already lost two games in a row. That game was crucial,” she added.

However, on the morning of the England match, Jemimah received news that left her devastated.

“Amol sir messaged me saying, ‘I need to talk to you.’ Then, at the ground, I was told that I had been dropped from the team for that game. I was broken inside,” she revealed.

India eventually bounced back strongly from their poor start, defeating New Zealand to qualify for the semifinals before stunning Australia in the last four and beating South Africa in the final to lift the Women’s World Cup 2025 title.

Jemimah played a defining role in the semifinal victory over Australia, producing a match-winning unbeaten knock of 127 runs under pressure to help India script one of their most memorable wins in ICC tournament history.

Despite being dropped from the England match, Jemimah scored 292 runs in seven innings at an impressive average of 58.40 in the World Cup.

–IANS

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