IND W v SA W | Playing against South Africa brings back memories of debut for India, says Jemimah Rodrigues

After a successful outing in the Kia Super League in England, Jemimah is looking forward to a new challenge. She fondly remembers her debut for India against the South Africans back in February 2018. Jemimah scored a 27-ball 37 as India coasted to a comfortable seven-wicket win away from home.

“Playing against South Africa is special for me because that’s when I made my debut for India. It would bring back a few memories for me. I am not trying to do anything different,” Jemimah told Sportstar during an interview.

Going into the series, the 19-year-old is in a positive frame of mind, one she is carrying over from her performance for the Yorkshire Diamonds. She finished second among the run-scorers at the KSL with 401 runs – behind only Danielle Wyatt (466).

“I am trying to keep things simple like I did in the KSL and it worked well for me. So I want to continue that same thing even in the South Africa series. I loved batting in England because you won’t get those wickets in India,” Jemimah said.

She further elaborated on her time batting in the middle-order in English conditions. At the KSL, she would bat at No.4, even though she is primarily an opener. “There was one match in Surrey, where the wicket was a bit difficult but other than that I don’t remember any other wicket being challenging or difficult. I really enjoyed batting. And more than anything else, what I will take from this experience is the confidence that I got. Even I didn’t know I could do so well, going on foreign soil and playing with the world’s best cricketers,” she said. 

“But I was happy I was getting to bat lower down the order because I wouldn’t get this experience in India. When I'm batting one-down I get at least some time, 10 to 15 overs to get myself going, take singles and build an innings,” Jemimah added.