Indian women’s cricket star Jemimah Rodrigues played the innings of her life, smashing an unbeaten 127 runs against Australia in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 semi-final, guiding India to a historic win.
Chasing a mammoth 339-run target, India reached the mark with nine balls to spare and five wickets in hand, achieving the highest successful run chase in women’s cricket history. Jemimah’s incredible knock earned her the ‘Player of the Match’ award.
Religious Conversion Controversy and Mental Struggles
For Jemimah, this century was much more than just runs on the scoreboard. Behind her brilliance lay months of personal and emotional battles. During the post-match presentation, she revealed that she had been dealing with anxiety, mental stress, and frequent emotional breakdowns in recent months.
Adding to her struggle, Jemimah’s family faced a major controversy last year when her father, Ivan Rodrigues, was accused of being involved in religious conversion activities. Following these allegations, Mumbai’s historic Khar Gymkhana club terminated her membership, which deeply affected the Rodrigues family.
The Khar Gymkhana Controversy
According to reports, some officials and members of Khar Gymkhana alleged that Ivan Rodrigues used the club’s premises for religious gatherings linked to an organization called Bro Manuel Ministries. Shiv Malhotra, a committee member, claimed that Rodrigues had booked the Presidential Hall for about 35 such events over 18 months, allegedly violating Rule 4A of the club’s constitution, which prohibits religious activities.
The controversy created a storm and took a heavy emotional toll on Jemimah and her family.
Jemimah’s Emotional Message After Her Century
After her match-winning knock, an emotional Jemimah said, “Firstly, I want to thank Jesus because I couldn't do this on my own. I know He carried me through today.”
She added, “Initially while playing I was talking to myself, but towards the end I was quoting a Scripture from the Bible as I had lost energy and was tired. The Scripture says, ‘Stand still and God will fight for you’, and that’s what I did — I just stood there, and He fought for me.”
On her performance, she said, “Today was not about my 50 or my 100, today was about making India win. I know I got a few chances, but I feel like God scripted everything at the right time. When we do things with the right intention, He always blesses.”
“I Was Not Okay Mentally”
Jemimah further opened up about her mental state, saying, “Things back-to-back kept happening and I couldn't control anything. I have almost cried every day, I was not doing well mentally, going through a lot of anxiety. Then being dropped was another challenge for me but I think all I had to do was show up and God took care of everything."
With faith, resilience, and sheer determination, Jemimah Rodrigues turned personal pain into sporting glory — leading India into the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 Final and inspiring millions with her courage both on and off the field.
