DUBAI: Jemimah Rodrigues keeps running. Whether it is during the field or between the wickets, one can sense the urgency in every move she makes. There used to be a time when she would get frustrated if that running was not fetching her any returns. Now, with more experience at the international level, better clarity on what she wants to do with the energy she has, and maturity, she has been able to deal with it in a better way. And that same Rodrigues was on display in the first two fixtures for India at the ongoing T20 World Cup in UAE.
After a big loss against New Zealand in the opening game, India had only one day to manage their comeback against Pakistan. The conditions were not in anyone's favour as both teams were playing their first afternoon games of the tournament at the Dubai International Stadium. Pakistan's decision to bat first meant India had to face the brunt of the sun. As always, Rodrigues was at all the possible fielding hotspots.
According to the weather app, the temperature was officially recorded at 36 degrees Celsius, but it was surely feeling more than 40 degrees Celsius. Neither the temperature nor the running had any effect on Rodrigues. Inside the Powerplay, she was equally agile at point as she was outside of it as a boundary rider. India's disciplined bowling, a slow pitch, relatively slow outfield, and a much-improved fielding compared to the first game against New Zealand, led to Pakistan only managing to score 29 runs in the first six overs.
While the bits of dropping easy catches and misfields continued, this time it did not cost India too much. At one point, Pakistan's former captain, Nida Dar, was struggling to find gaps and whenever she tried to go for runs there was no escaping, mostly from Rodrigues, Sajana Sajeevan and Arundhati Reddy — the pick of the fielders. There was no running twos on Rodrigues' arm who mostly patrolled boundaries. After being one of the unluckiest bowlers in the first match where plenty of catches were dropped off her bowling, Reddy finally got her share of wickets. By the looks of it, both teams had accepted that the match was not going to be one of the higher-scoring ones as Pakistan only managed to score 105 for the loss of eight wickets.
For India, in the group of death, winning the match was never going to be enough after a loss in the opener by 58 runs. For India to have their NRR positive, they needed to chase the total in less than 12 overs. The opening pair of Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma had much more responsibility on their shoulders, especially since they could not give the team the start they needed in the opener when they added only 11 as a pair. Verma did survive an early LBW shout in the very first over of the innings, but the fortunes of the team did not change from there. If it wasn't for the five wides that Fatima Sana bowled, India would have only scored 13 runs in the starting four overs of the game.
The wicket of Mandhana in the penultimate over of the Powerplay brought Rodrigues into the middle, yet another unexpected move from the Indian team management. After letting captain Harmanpreet Kaur come at three to bat in two warm-up games and the opener in Dubai, which led to Rodrigues moving away from number five where she was stationed for an extended period of time, the musical chairs regarding the position continued again when Mandhana, wearing No. 5 at the back, came to bat at three, leaving Kaur to go back to her original position of four.
It did not take Rodrigues much time to get going in her new position. With the second ball she faced, she was off and doing what she loves. Run. She pushed Verma to run two immediately, who had only run two on three occasions till that point. Despite having four dot balls and a wicket, India managed to salvage that over with four runs in the end. That is what Rodrigues brings to the table. While Verma found some old form and started hitting boundaries, it was never enough for India as the aim to finish the game as early as possible was slowly slipping away.
Thrown in the middle at number three, on the relatively hard pitch for batters, Rodrigues did what she could. While there was no boundary in her innings, the need of the hour was for someone to stick there and finish the game and she did exactly that. Player of the match, Reddy later confirmed that winning the match was the priority as they could not afford to lose one at this stage in the tournament hoping to go for a few quick runs.
"We understand net run rate is important but winning the game is all the more important for us," Reddy said in the post-match press conference. Net run rate will be in play, especially in this group. Honestly, today the wicket was playing a little slower. So obviously, the batters could not (go for runs). The main thing was to finish the game," she added.
In the match that ended up giving mixed emotions to Indian fans, Rodrigues did what she does best. Sometimes to save runs, other times to score a few. And she will continue to do so.