Eight years ago, 16-year-old Jemimah Rodrigues stood at the Mumbai airport gates, clutching a handmade sign and grinning under a cap bearing the thumbs-up symbol.
She had come not to board a flight, but to welcome back India's vanquished 2017 World Cup finalists. Her heroes, Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur, Jhulan Goswami were returning after a heartbreak at Lord's.
Jemimah, then a wide-eyed teenager, waited among scores, eyes sparkling with dreams of one day being in their shoes.
Fast forward to 2025, the scene was almost poetic.
At the D Y Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai, the now 25 year old sank to her knees in tears of joy, her parents wrapping her in a tight embrace. She had just scripted one of India's greatest sporting nights with an unbeaten 127 that powered a record chase of 339 against Australia in the women's World Cup semi-final.
It wasn't just a match-winning innings; it was the culmination of every doubt, every drop, every late-night net session that kept her dream alive.
When India slipped early in the chase, Jemimah and Harmanpreet Kaur, the same player she had idolised as a teen, combined for a 167-run partnership that broke Australia's famed grip on World Cups.
Her knock, crafted over 134 balls and punctuated with 14 boundaries, blended grace and grit.
Her journey to this moment was anything but smooth. She was dropped mid-tournament, moved up and down the batting order, and even left out of squads when her usual smile began to fade, living through the tough gap between potential and performance.
Yet, through the years, she never stopped believing.
And on Thursday night, it finally did. From a teenage fan waving at her idols to the woman who took India to their third World Cup final, Jemimah Rodrigues closed a perfect circle, one drawn with patience, purpose, and pure Mumbai spirit.
'This wasn't about proving a point,' she said quietly. 'I just wanted to get this done for India.'
© 2025