Jemimah Rodrigues fifty laid the foundation to the preparations of India Women T20 World Cup 2026 after team hosts prevailed convincingly over Sri Lanka in the first T20 of the six match series at Visakhapatnam by a margin of eight wickets. Now, back to the action 50 days after the lifting of ODI World Cup India displayed minute rustiness and never lost track due to a strict bowling performance and the follow-up composed and self-assured chase that Rodrigues made.
To begin with, the bowlers of India established their base on a cool evening on which the dew always would have contributed an important part. The choice by Harmanpreet Kaur to bowl first was perfect and the Indian onslaught led to great control and patience to see the Sri Lanka reduced to 121 of 6. Although there was no wicketing in a mass, the pace was never allowed to pick up and consequently the Sri Lankan total was nothing short of below average and hence was always destined to lose its position once the sun had set.
Kranti Gaud, who was preferred over Renuka Singh as a single frontline seamer, came out fresh. Gaud demonstrated maturity despite her lack of experience after giving away some initial boundaries to the Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu. She cleverly changed sides and hurled a length ball that clips back in order to bowl Athapaththu and take her maiden T20I wicket. That innovation enabled the spinsters of India to take charge and dictate terms in the middle overs.
Sri Lanka however, briefly resisted with Vishmi Gunaratne, Hasini Perera and Harshitha Samarawickrama who tried to rotate strike in sweeps and with subtle placement. Although India had a number of catch drops and missed chances such as the chances of N Shree Charani bowling, there were no lapses in the discipline. Despite the latter shortcomings, the company was only able to complete 30 laps on the last four over, which also underlines what India was capable of recovering to bring the finish as a strong contender.
It was her maiden international match since the glorious performance in Navi Mumbai when Shafali Verma began the game with the purpose but left early. That united Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues, the latter appearing to have little trouble establishing herself, at least at the beginning of the contest, where Mandhana was slightly scratchy.
Jemimah Rodrigues had a meaning fifty longer than numbers. Making her 100th T20I appearance, Rodrigues became the 14th to score her 14th half-century in the format, and stamp her authority strongly at the No. 3. There had been subtle talk over the batting order of India, particularly following the recent trials of the same with Harleen Deol and Harmanpreet Kaur in that position. That argument was firmly put into rest by Rodrigues fluent 69 not out off 44 balls.
The masterpiece of the controlled aggression was the inning played by Rodrigues. She was clever with the crease itself, and played the gaps with skilful fingers, and used sweeps and dabs to keep the score board going. The 16-run over of Shashini Gimhani at the conclusion of the powerplay enabled India to completely dominate the chase by guaranteeing that there will be no pressure in future.
However, playing not at her best, Mandhana did attain another goal becoming, second woman to pass 4,000 runs in T20 internationals. Moderation she brought up 25, and that was the guaranty of stability, yet Rodrigues drove the chase on with confidence. With an impeccable performance by the entire team even following the dismissal of Mandhana, a formidable team composed of Rodrigues and Harmanpreet was making a formidable stand to take India to World Cup once again, with an extra ball to spare.
This was the sixth victory out of the ten games since their premature departure at the 2024 T20 World Cup and it provided easy evidence of the harmony and richness in the team. The bowlers held the pressure back even when they misfielded, whilst the batters demonstrated composure in their attitude.
To sum it up, it has to be stated that fifty by Jemimah Rodrigues fifty became the highlight of the match itself and a testament to how significant she developed within the T20 environment in India. Another game in the same venue is soon at hand and Sri Lanka will need to make swift adjustments, whereas India will seek to gain momentum as their T20 world cup 2026 journey gets momentum.
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