Veteran Indian pacer Shikha Pandey has thrown her weight behind Jemimah Rodrigues after salty trolls lined up to have a go at her, despite the 25-year-old playing an innings of a lifetime in the Women's World Cup semi-final to knock Australia out. Jemimah was in tears as the emotions of being dropped in the middle of the tournament, not doing well and finally playing a huge role in getting one over Australia engulfed her, however, misogynistic and vile comments emerged on social media, despite the 25-year-old doing what she did in Navi Mumbai on October 30.
Jemimah was attacked for her religion after she, a devout Christian, thanked Jesus Christ in her post-match address. "I thank Jesus, I couldn’t have done this on my own .. he carried me through this”, she had said. Jemimah has been attacked for her religion in the past and despite his father (Ivan Rodrigues) denying the conversion claims in the past, she continued to be on the receiving end after she scored 24 runs in the final. India reached their third Women's World Cup final because of Jemimah's unbeaten 127, a few days before.
However, the Mumbai cricketer was still mocked and abused online by the keyboard warriors. Pandey, who has played alongside Jemimah for India and in franchise cricket, slammed the trolls and came in her teammate's support.
"Just putting this out for anyone who needs to hear the obvious - Yes, Jemi is God’s favourite child and if you are envious..umm..sorry, no one can help you," Pandey wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
The semi-final win was an emotional result for the Women in Blue, who, for the longest years, have suffered heartbreaks and have been on the wrong side of results facing Australia in ICC events and for once, the result switched sides in the home team's favour as all the players and the support staff were an emotional wreck. Jemimah also opened up about her anxiety and the difficult periods she has gone through and overcome to be able to produce a performance like she did in the semi-final.
“I will be very vulnerable here because someone who is watching this might be going through the same thing. Nobody likes to talk about their weaknesses. I was going through a lot of anxiety at the start of the tournament. It was a lot before a few games… I used to call my mum and cry the entire time, let it all out because when you go through anxiety, you feel numb," Rodrigues said in the press conference.
“During this time, my mom and dad supported me a lot. There was Smriti, who also helped me… she just knows whose presence is important for me. I am so blessed to have friends who I can call family, that I didn’t have to go through it alone. And it’s okay to ask for help."
