I used to call my mum and cry the entire time; I was going through a lot of anxiety at the start of the tournament: Jemimah Rodrigues

Indian No.3 batter Jemimah Rodrigues has opened up on the difficulties she has faced in the recent times and how her teammates Arundhati Reddy, Smriti Mandhana and Radha Yadav supported her throughout the tournament to come out of it and excel.

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For the unversed, Jemimah smacked an unbeaten 127-run knock off 134 balls with 14 fours to propel India Women to a stunning five-wicket win over Australia Women in the second semi-final in Navi Mumbai on Thursday, October 30.

"I'll 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 because nobody likes to talk about their weakness," Rodrigues said after the game.

"I was going through a lot of anxiety at the start of the tournament and it was a lot before few games also I used to call my mum and cry, cry the entire time, let it all out, because when you're going through anxiety, you just feel numb,” she added.

"You don't know what to do. You're trying to be yourself. And also in this time, my mum and my dad, they supported me a lot. And also, there was Arundhati (Reddy) who I think almost every day I've cried in front - almost every day I've cried in front of her. Later, I was joking, I said, you don't come in front of me, I'll start crying,” she noted.

Interestingly, Jemimah was dropped against England Women in the group stage affair. However, she made a strong comeback against New Zealand Women, scoring an unbeaten 76-run knock, which helped India Women to win the game and seal the semi-final berth.

"But she checked on me every single day. And there was Smriti (Mandhana) who helped me. She also knew what I was going through. A few of the net sessions, she was just standing there. Even yesterday she came. She just stood there just because - didn't say much, but she just knows that her presence is important for me,” she continued. 

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"There's been Radha (Yadav) who's always been there taking care of me. I'm so blessed to have friends I can call family, that I didn't have to go through it alone and it's OK to ask for help,” she stated.

"And that's what happened. And my mum also, she's as emotional as I am, but she went through a lot. My family went through a lot. But everyone stood by me and believed in me when I didn’t, when I couldn't,” she asserted.

"It started with the anxiety thing. Then I was dropped from the team and that really hit me. When you’re 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 with everything that was happening in the past month,” she observed.

"But sometimes all you need to do is just hang in there and things fall into place. So I'm 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,” she concluded.

With this win, India Women advanced to the grand finale. They will take on South Africa Women, led by Laura Wolvaardt, in the final on Sunday, November 2, in Navi Mumbai.

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