India's ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024 campaign got off to a poor start as they suffered a 58-run loss to New Zealand at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai. The fielding standards were not up to the mark but Jemimah Rodrigues covered a lot of ground and saved crucial runs for her team. Fielding coach Munish Bali lifted the spirits in the dressing room lauding the comeback in the fielding department after a couple of hiccups in the powerplay overs. Bali handed the medal to skipper Harmanpreet Kaur who honoured Jemimah with it.
"Tough luck girls, I know it was not an ideal start, it's not the start that we wanted. We will bounce back. The way we fielded, if we erase the sixth over, where we did two errors, after that, we came back into the match. Well done!" he said.
"Smriti Mandhana and Shreyanka Patil, excellent catch. Pooja Vastrakar, excellent efforts, fielding around and diving. Three brilliant saves in the boundary. Like how we bounced back in fielding, let's bounce back in the next game," he added.
Jemimah started well in the run chase at no.5 as she opened her mark with a boundary via sweep shot. But she gave in to the pressure of required run rate and got caught inside the 30-yard cricle by Maddy Green off Lea Tahuhu's bowling. She scored 13 runs from 11 balls and contributed to the collapse.
India’s NRR takes a massive hit
In Group A, India's net run rate (NRR) took a hit after the comprehensive loss. India's NRR is -2.900. India don't just need to win to win their remaining three group stage matches but by a good margin as well to strengthen their chances of reaching the semifinals.
Jemimah’s record against Pakistan
India's next clash is against Pakistan at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on October 6. Pakistan beat Sri Lanka in their campaign opener on October 3 at Sharjah Cricket Stadium by 31 runs.
Jemimah has a good record against Pakistan. She scored an unbeaten half-century in the previous edition of T20 World Cup 2024. India chased down 150 with seven wickets in hand and six balls to spare.
