New Delhi [India], May 20 (ANI): India batter Jemimah Rodrigues believes the team is driven by the desire to script its own historic moment at Lord’s, drawing inspiration from Kapil Dev and India’s iconic 1983 Men’s World Cup triumph at the venue.
Speaking ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 in England and Wales, Rodrigues said the prospect of lifting India’s maiden women’s T20 World Cup title at Lord’s carries special significance for the squad.
“Kapil Dev and the Indian men’s team won their first-ever World Cup there. We would love to win our first-ever Women’s T20 World Cup there. That would be super cool,” she told ICC.
The middle-order batter heads into the tournament on the back of a memorable campaign in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, where her unbeaten 127 off 134 balls powered India to a dramatic semi-final victory over Australia before the team went on to secure its maiden world title in Navi Mumbai.
Rodrigues said that the breakthrough triumph has removed mental barriers within the squad and fuelled greater ambition.
“The monkey is off the back,” she said. “But I don’t think it’s pressure. I think it’s more motivation because now you’ve tasted what it feels like to lift one World Cup. It makes you want one more and then one more and then one more. So I think the team is even more motivated and even more eager. And more than that, we saw the kind of impact it had for women’s cricket in India. We just want to continue that legacy, going to England,” she said.
The 25-year-old also highlighted the resilience and fighting spirit within the Indian dressing room.
“I think this team has character. When you want to win big games, you need people with character, people who are different in their own way, but they have a thing that they’ll do anything to win the match. That kind of attitude. And I think that’s great character. And that’s why in any situation, I believe our team will find a way to win a match,” said Rodrigues.
Rodrigues reflected on her own challenging journey leading up to the defining knock against Australia, revealing how difficult phases in her career helped prepare her for the occasion.
“I think firstly, the biggest learning for me was because I was going through a lot of anxiety, not doing well, got two ducks in the tournament, was dropped and four years ago, I was dropped from the Cricket World Cup,” she recalled.
“This was my first World Cup. What I realised is that sometimes all you have got to do is show up because life has a way of making all things work together for good,” she said.
She added that years of setbacks eventually shaped her mindset for high-pressure moments.
“And I think, those four years actually trained me for such a moment as that, because I had to use all that experience that all the failures in all those years taught me, maybe for such a time as that. So I think that was my biggest learning, that sometimes, especially when it gets hard, and you don’t have the strength to run or fly, sometimes all you have to do is just go and stand and God works out everything for you,” she added.
India, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, have been placed in Group 1 alongside Australia, South Africa, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Netherlands.
Their campaign begins against arch-rivals Pakistan on June 14 at Edgbaston in Birmingham, a fixture Rodrigues remembers fondly from the 2023 edition of the tournament.
Chasing 150 in that contest, Rodrigues struck an unbeaten 53 and stitched a match-winning partnership with Richa Ghosh to guide India home under pressure.
“I think in 24 balls we needed 41 runs, which in a World Cup is a lot of pressure, like double the pressure,” she recalled.
“And from there we went out and chased it down. I think that was very special for me, and I still remember that,” she concluded.
India will now hope Rodrigues can deliver more such match-winning performances as they target a historic first Women’s T20 World Cup title this summer. (ANI)
