Planning, execution – biggest takeaways from T20 World Cup 2020: Jemimah Rodrigues

Planning and execution – there is a huge difference between the two. For teenager Jemimah Rodrigues, bridging the gap between the two has been India's biggest takeaway from their ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2020 campaign last month, losing in the summit clash to hosts Australia.



“More than anything, in batting, bowling and fielding, the team (had an issue) with the execution of the plan,” Rodrigues was quoted as saying by Scroll.in. “You could see Australia execute their plans very well and were very clear on what they had to do. But on that day, we were just not able to execute our plans, starting from the bowling, then fielding and even batting. Trailing in one department is fine but not in all three, you cannot win a match like that,” she admitted.



Making her T20 debut in 2018, Rodrigues has become a vital cog in the India batting order as well as one of the poster players for the new-look side. However, she didn’t have the best of the contributions on the field, a fact she plays with a straight bat. But with this coronavirus lockdown, she is looking forward to spending some extended family time at her Mumbai residence – something which has come as a blessing in disguise.



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“It feels weird, you want to do so much after coming up from the World Cup having analysed what you need to work on. At home now I’m just trying to do basic things correctly, knocking down with a plastic ball… maybe when we look back at these moments it might be good. Normally you don’t work a lot on basics once you’re in the flow and playing matches,” the 19-year-old added.



The way Rodrigues approached the lockdown and the assessment of the Australia tour reflects a maturity far beyond her age, a trait she possessed long before her India debut and one that has helped her process the final heartbreak. “For this young team with an average age of U-23 to do so well and reach the finals in the tri-series and World Cup was a big positive for us and for Indian women’s cricket, in spite of how it ended,” she explained.



“We have a developing side and are doing so well. Just imagine what’s going to happen once they get more experienced and grow a little stronger because now everybody is still growing up... Shafali (Verma) and Richa (Ghosh) are only 16.



“Yes, the World Cup didn’t work out so well for me… I had been working a lot on my technique, my shots, uppish hitting and all that. Every player goes through this and that’s what cricket teaches you actually. What happened in this World Cup is definitely motivating me to work even harder to get better and to take my game to the next level,” she added.



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The teenager also reiterated the fact that this Indian side has come a long way in terms of fitness in the past one and half years which is still a crucial and much-needed aspect in Indian women’s cricket. “We have worked a lot on our fitness, BCCI even had specific camps only for fitness so that is one thing that has developed over the last one and a half year. But we are all still working on it and it will take us some time to reach a particular standard,” she said.



The pressure was definitely there considering the fact that India were first-time finalists in the T20 World Cup taking on the four-time champions. The teen said that as much as coach WV Raman had prepared them for the occasion, the moment still got to them.



© ICC



“I think the pressure is always going to be there and some of it is good. About handling it, I think it’s important for us all to not think about the result. That’s only going to add more pressure on us. The one thing you can do is just focus on the process, the results will automatically follow,” the Mumbai batter assessed, talking like a true veteran of the game.



Rodrigues herself has been putting a lot of time on improving bat-speed in shots where her size can be a factor. But her stupendous run in the KIA Super League in England last year, where she was the second highest-scorer, has helped Rodrigues approach T20 batting differently.



“Women’s cricket has always seen a lot of progress and development and that’s just the same thing that’s happening now (about power-hitting),” she said. “We see the Big Bash League, KIA Super League and even the men’s game and automatically develop a mindset where big scores are chase-able and don’t intimidate you. If you can divide it like over by over and keep small targets, the chase doesn’t look so big,” she explained.



Away from cricket, the chirpy teenager – aka ‘Lil J’ – has become quite the social media star. Her video of dancing on a Bollywood song with an off-duty security guard at the T20 World Cup went viral as did her video of playing the guitar when she was in England last year. But her online fame is not the result of a conscious decision, rather an extension of her everyday self.



“I didn’t plan for it, just wanted to keep my social media as real as possible, how I am off the field. I didn’t know people would actually ask me about it in interviews,” she laughed. “I didn’t really expect all this to happen but it’s good to have a balance in both cricket as well as your life.”