File photo of Sachin Tendulkar
India batsman Jemimah Rodrigues says a call from the great Sachin Tendulkar helped her regain focus after being overwhelmed by the innings of a lifetime in the Women’s ODI World Cup semi-final against Australia last year. Rodrigues played a brilliant unbeaten 127 to help India oust world-dominating Australia en route to their maiden title win in Navi Mumbai last year. He said it was Tendulkar’s inputs that helped him maintain focus.
“Sachin sir called my coach Prashant Shetty. He asked him to tell me that he understands that the last few days have been great for me, the big innings against Australia in the semi-finals, the joy of beating them,” Rodrigues told GeoHotstar.
“But he reminded me that the work is not over yet. We still have to win the final. ‘Try to put that aside and start from zero,’ he said. That message really helped me reset my mind.
“I understood that what you did earlier will not win you the next game. You should take every match as a new beginning. The advice from a legend gave me a lot of clarity before the final,” she said.
In the final against South Africa, it was an all-round performance from Shafali Verma (87 and 2/36) that made the difference. The opening batsman said that his father’s encouraging words came in handy at that time.
“We had two days off before the final. My father sent me a voice note. He said, ‘Just work hard. Give your best on the field and it should be in writing that Shafali Verma helped India win the World Cup,'” Shafali said.
He said, “That voice note gave me (some) extra energy. I knew I had to perform not just for myself, but for him and the team. It motivated me to give my all on the field.”
The reigning ODI world champions are preparing for their tournament opening match at the T20 World Cup against arch-rivals Pakistan in Birmingham on Sunday.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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