Jemimah Rodrigues - setting the world on fire with a century in The Hundred

Jemimah Rodrigues has set the world stage on fire with her brilliant knock on her debut in The Hundred competition and it already adds more star value to her.

Jemimah Rodrigues (Image credit: Twitter)
By Siddharth vishwanathan | Jul 25, 2021 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Jemimah Rodrigues is a social media star, cricket superstar and now the individual who might have actually ensured The Hundred a success. Her knock of 92 in a 100-ball contest has set the cricketing world ablaze. In 2008, Brendon McCullum gave the new tournament of the IPL a much-needed boost with a fantastic 158 in the opening game. On her debut, Jemimah Rodrigues has potentially ensured that The 100 might be a viable format with an exhibition of batting that bordered on audacious.

Getting a Twenty20 hundred is a massive feat. But, almost getting a century in a 100-ball format takes tremendous skill. Playing for Northern Superchargers against Welsh Fire, Jemimah Rodrigues had to wait for her opportunity to bat. Welsh Fire was inserted into bat and they notched up 130. Hayley Matthews was the star with 30 off 20 balls while the rest of the batting chipped in with some vital runs. 130 off 100 was a decent score. No one told that to Jemimah.

Jemimah Rodrigues takes The 100 by storm

Northern Superchargers got off to a bad start when Bryony Smith sent back Georgia Hennessy cheaply. Laura Woolvardt was run out while Piepa Cleary dismissed Hollie Armitage. When Bess Heath was dismissed by Hayley Matthews after a hat-trick of boundaries, Northern Superchargers were in trouble at 19/4. The situation demanded caution, but Jemimah unleashed herself on the opposition and blew away the Welsh Fire in a stunning display of batting.

Jemimah  showed her intent with a six and a four off Smith to get going. From balls 51 to 60, Rodrigues smashed five fours, including three consecutive off Nicole Harvey. Jemimah continued to smash boundaries at will, hitting Smith, Cleary and Alex Griffiths for boundaries. The carnage continued as Jemimah blasted 92 to give Northern Superchargers a big win by six wickets.

Jemimah’s knock included 17 fours and a six, which meant74 off her runs came in boundaries. The knock was hailed by everyone, with Kevin Pietersen calling Jemimah his favorite player now.

The impact of Jemimah

Jemimah’s skills both on and off the field make her a blockbuster. In the ICC World T20 in Australia, Jemimah stunned the world with her dance moves. In addition, her social media handles speak of remarkable confidence expressed by an Indian team that is on the up in modern cricket. Her fun interactions, funny outlook, as well as her batting skills, make Jemimah the total package in women’s cricket.

There have been few individuals who play well both on and off the field. Jemimah is a rare breed of players. In 21 matches, she has an average of 19.7. But, do not go by the average. Jemimah can be impactful when the situation demands just as she did in The 100 match. It is in the shortest formats where Jemimah seems to have an edge, with an average of 26 and strike-rate of 111 in T20Is. The highlight of her T20 career was the 112 off 58 balls for Yorkshire Diamonds against Southern Vipers in the Kia Super League in 2019.

Jemimah has been low on confidence in the last couple of matches and she was quick to point out that she needed this knock to get her confidence back. “I had to stay calm and play my game because I am good enough. That was a slight shift that I got my mindset on. I don’t need to put too much pressure on myself to go out and score or prove myself or make it big,” Jemimah told ESPNCricinfo.

Her knock indicates that she has learnt her lesson of not taking too much pressure. Just like her social media handles, she can be cool and open while batting. If that happens, Jemimah will be a blockbuster every single time.





Related Post

HIGHLIGHTS

Buzzwords