Why Jemimah Rodrigues wasn't retired out until 20th over for Richa Ghosh? Head Coach Amol Muzumdar says 'didn't strike me at that time'

In the must-win encounter, Jemimah Rodrigues was tasked with the no.3 role ahead of Yastika Bhatia. Against Australia, she was backed by the team management to deliver but her strike rate wasn't up to the mark at Lord's London, in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 clash. Jemimah was retired out after the penultimate over but head coach Amol Muzumdar indicated that the call should've come a few overs earlier in hindsight.

“It really didn’t strike me at that time (with 3-4 overs to spare). I thought Jemi is a clutch player for us. Jemi and Harman, both of them, were going really strong. In the last two overs, I felt that Jemi couldn’t penetrate that field, and that’s why that call was taken,” Muzumdar said in the post-match press conference.

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Jemimah was retired out with six balls left in the innings. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur went berserk with three sixes in the final over before losing her wicket. Muzumdar felt that 170/4 was a par score but would've liked cushion of 15-20 overs.

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Perry, Gardner knock India out of semifinal race

Jemimah, India's hero of the ICC Women's ODI World Cup 2025 semifinal against Australia, could manage to score 34 runs from 28 balls. She struggled to find boundaries in the middle overs. A mix-up between her and Smriti Mandhana led to the latter's wicket. The target of 171 was chased down by Australia with an over to spare. Ellyse Perry and Ashleigh Gardner starred with fifties in the run chase.

Jemimah’s run in T20 World Cup 2026

Jemimah registered scores of 1, 19, 12, 26 and 34 in the tournament. From five games, she scored 92 runs at an average of 18.40 at a strike rate of 119.48.

Flaws in picking the XI?

India opted to include two anchor players in the lineup apart from Smriti Mandhana. Not just Jemimah, but Yastika was in the side as well. Richa Ghosh was the only hitter in the squad that can go after the bowling from ball one. Bharti Fulmali wasn’t given a single chance after the Pakistan game.