Jemimah Rodrigues has achieved her first ODI century, becoming the fourth fastest Indian woman to reach 1,000 ODI runs in terms of innings during her impressive innings.
The 24-year-old middle-order batswoman from Mumbai, Jemimah Rodrigues, made her ODI debut at the young age of 17 years and 188 days on March 12, 2018, against Australia in the first ODI at Reliance Stadium in Vadodara.
Throughout the years, she has become a reliable middle-order player for India, noted for her stylish and graceful approach to the game. She recorded her first half-century in this format on January 24 during the first ODI of the series against New Zealand. In that match at McLean Park, Napier, she scored an unconquered half-century (81* off 94 balls) while partnering with Smriti Mandhana as an opener to guide her team to victory.
Rodrigues attained the 500-run mark in ODI cricket on July 22, 2023, during the third ODI against Bangladesh, where she scored an unbeaten 33* (45 balls) at Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. The Indian women’s team, led by stand-in captain Smriti Mandhana due to the absence of Harmanpreet Kaur, is hosting Ireland for their first bilateral ODI series in India from January 10 to 15, 2025 (Wednesday).
In her role batting at number four, Jemimah had a lackluster start to the series, scoring just 9 runs off six balls, which included a couple of boundaries, in the first ODI at Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot. Nonetheless, she seized her next chance, marking her maiden ODI century with flair in the second ODI of the three-match series, reaching the milestone in just 90 balls with a boundary.
She was dismissed on the very next ball as she attempted to push the score in the innings’ final over, pulling a delivery from Arlene Kelly onto her stumps due to a thick inside edge. This score is not only her first century but also a new career-best in the format, surpassing her previous highest of 86 off 78 balls achieved against Bangladesh on July 19, 2023.
During her innings of 102 off 91 balls, she also crossed the 1,000-run milestone in ODIs, becoming the fourth fastest Indian woman based on the number of innings (40 innings) to achieve this feat, following Mithali Raj (29 innings), Deepti Sharma (29 innings), Jaya Sharma (30 innings), Harmanpreet Kaur (30 innings), and Smriti Mandhana (33 innings). She reached this milestone with an impressive boundary on the fourth ball of the 24th over bowled by Georgina Dempsey.
Overall, her ODI tally now stands at 1,089 runs, which includes six half-centuries, with a strike rate of 83.06 and an average of 29.43 across 40 innings for her team. India ultimately set a new record for their highest-ever ODI total, scoring 370/5 in their allotted overs, breaking their previous record of 358/2 against Ireland in May 2017 and 358/5 against the West Indies in December last year.
Image Source: Jemimah Rodrigues @ Instagram
