Navi Mumbai, Oct 26 (IANS) After India secured a semi-final berth in the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup with a crucial win over New Zealand, middle-order batter Jemimah Rodrigues reflected on the turnaround in that clash, saying that the character of a side is tested when they are down and out.

In that match at the DY Patil Stadium, centuries from Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal, along with Jemimah’s unbeaten 76 off 55 balls, meant India posted a massive 340/3 and then got a 53-run win via DLS method. India will now play its final league game against Bangladesh on Sunday, before taking on Australia in the semi-final on October 30.

“We spoke about in the dressing room that this is our ground. We can’t let anyone come and tell us they can take whatever they want from us. This is our home, we want to dominate here and we just want to play good cricket. The character of a team is always tested, not when you’re winning everything, but when you’re down and out.

“We lost three games in a row, we were under a lot of pressure and criticism. When things don’t go your way, it’s very easy to get distracted with the noise. But one good thing this team has done is they’ve stayed together.

“I believe, personally, this has been one of the best teams so far for us because we’ve played so much cricket together. We know each other, our energy is great. It’s a young team with experienced players. So, a champion team is a team which knows how to bounce back and that’s what this team did,” said Jemimah in a video posted on bcci.tv. on Sunday.

She also spoke about the familiarity and joy of playing in Navi Mumbai, considering that she’s the local girl. “Navi Mumbai is home for me. There’s a different kind of warmth, positivity, and it’s not just me, the entire team feels it here because of the people around and how they make you feel. They make you feel special, loved, they’ll cheer for you, come out in large numbers and that’s Navi Mumbai for us.

“Being a Mumbai girl, it’s always nice. One more thing, not too much travel. This World Cup has been a lot of travelling, so our hotel’s right here, so chill. But apart from that, we’ve played a lot of cricket over the last two to three years here. A lot of series, Test matches, one day games – so, I think it’s just a good thing for us,” added Jemimah.

–IANS

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