Sachin’s message helped me reset before World Cup final, says Jemimah

As India gear up for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in England, star batter Jemimah Rodrigues has opened up about a special piece of advice she received from batting legend Sachin Tendulkar ahead of the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup final.

India went on to lift the ODI World Cup title last year and will now look to add another ICC trophy when the T20 World Cup begins on June 12, with the final set to be played at Lord’s on July 5.

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Jemimah revealed that Tendulkar reached out through her coach, Prashant Shetty, after her match-winning innings in the semi-final against Australia and reminded her to stay focused on the bigger goal.

“Sachin sir called my coach Prashant Shetty. He asked him to tell me that he understood the past couple of days had been a lot for me, the big knock against Australia in the semi-final, the joy of beating them. But he reminded me that the job was not over yet. We still had a final to win.

“He said, try to put that aside and start from zero. That message really helped me reset my mind. I understood that what you did before does not win you the next game. You must treat every match as a new start. That advice from a legend gave me so much clarity before the final,” said Jemimah on JioStar.

India opener Shafali Verma also reflected on the build-up to the final and revealed how a voice note from her father inspired her ahead of the biggest match of her career.

“We had two off days before the final. My dad sent me a voice note. He said, ‘Just work hard. Give your best on the field. And it has to be in writing that Shafali Verma helped India win the World Cup.’ That voice note gave me extra fire. I knew I had to perform not just for myself, but for him and for the team. It pushed me to give everything I had on the field.”

Shafali played a crucial role in India’s triumph, making valuable contributions with both bat and ball in the title clash.

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur, meanwhile, spoke about the team’s approach heading into the final and explained why she trusted Shafali with the ball at a crucial stage of the game.

“In the past, we have played South Africa many times and won most of those matches. The league game against them had its ups and downs, but we were still confident. The only thing we discussed was: if we bat first in the final, don’t go in expecting to score 300 runs. If you carry that expectation, you will end up making mistakes. Even though we had five proper bowlers, I don’t know why her name kept coming to my mind.”

“I felt it was her day, so I had to use her somehow. Then Laura Wolvaardt and Sune Luus started building a partnership. That was the moment I knew I had to bring on Shafali. If that partnership grew, our chances of winning would drop.

“Chasing 300 on that sticky pitch was not as hard in the second innings because of the dew. It had rained and the outfield was wet. It was doing a lot off the surface. So, I asked Shafali if she wanted to bowl. She said yes with great confidence: ‘I will bowl, and I will take wickets,” she concluded.

India will now hope to carry the confidence from their historic ODI World Cup triumph into the T20 World Cup as they chase back-to-back ICC titles.