Talismanic batter Virat Kohli's unforgettable heroics at the MCG were mentioned before the Indian team took the field against Pakistan in the Women's T20 World Cup, revealed top-order batter, Jemimah Rodrigues.
On Sunday, at the Newlands Cricket Ground, Jemimah blasted a brilliant 53 not out off 38 deliveries to steer her side to a memorable seven-wicket win and get their tournament start on a bright note.
Jemimah's superlative efforts, including three fours off Fatima Sana in the 19th over, saw her emulate Kohli's similarly decisive innings against the same opponent in the men's T20 World Cup last year, anchoring India to a heart-thumping four-wicket triumph with a stunning 82 not out off 53 balls in Melbourne.
"India vs Pakistan matches are always a little bit more special -- we spoke about it in the team meeting. Growing up we always watched these matches. I remember watching the match at the MCG where Virat Kohli played such an extraordinary knock."
"We did speak about it but we also just wanted to go out there and put our first win on the board. We just wanted to go out, play the same cricket and with the same intensity as usual. I knew we had to build partnerships, and I knew if we took it deep we will win," she said in the post-match press conference.
Chasing 150, Jemimah shared an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 58 with wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh, who was also unbeaten on 31 off 20 balls, which eventually got India their first two points in the group stage of the competition.
"We knew they would bowl a bad ball eventually and we would capitalise -- it was a difficult wicket but being set helped. This was a team effort. We will let the win sink in, but the tournament has just begun.
We want to do the simple things correctly and then the results will take care of themselves," she added. Jemimah came into the tournament off the back of a barren run of form and had notched just a solitary score of over 30 in her last 10 T20I innings.
But when it mattered the most, with no Smriti Mandhana in the line-up, she stood up to take India home, in front of her parents in the stadium. This time last year, Jemimah was dropped from India's squad for the ODI World Cup in New Zealand, a phase which she herself said was one of her lowest times in life.
"That was the toughest time for me. If it was not for my family and my parents and my brothers and there were so many people I couldn't name them because we'll sit here until midnight.
There were so many people who helped me throughout this time." "This innings means a lot to me -- I hadn't been getting scores for a long time. As a batter when you're not getting scores, it's definitely not an enjoyable time.
I was working really hard in the nets, I knew I was ticking all the boxes, putting in the effort and going to the gym. It was very tough but when it mattered the most, it came, so it was very special for me."