Off season hard work paid off says Jemimah Rodrigues after her double ton

Jemimah Rodrigues scored 202 off 163 deliveries at Aurangabad against Saurashtra.

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Mumbai's Jemimah Rodrigues
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17-year-old Mumbai’s Jemimah Rodrigues scored 202* runs against Saurashtra. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Jemimah Rodrigues is a new sensation in Indian cricket. The 16-year-old is an all-rounder in sports. She would attempt to score goals in the morning while her afternoons were spent trying to polish his batting skills. Her love and excellent skills in both the sports surprised sports fans. But, last year she had to make a choice between cricket and hockey and she opted for the game of cricket.

Since she decided to build her career in cricket she has been a sensation in Mumbai with her run-scoring exploits. Jemimah was also picked for U19 Maharashtra hockey team at the age of 17. Since it was difficult to juggle between two sports she decided to pick cricket as her future.

On Sunday, the move was justified as she became the only second woman after Indian opener Smriti Mandhana to score a double-hundred in 50-over cricket. Jemimah scored 202 off 163 deliveries at Aurangabad against Saurashtra. Her record knock was a follow-up innings after she scored 178 off 142 balls against Gujarat in the under-19 tournament.

Her meteoric rise got her picked in the U19 team at the age of 13. Within a couple of years, she was picked for U23 cricket for the senior team and received a trophy from former India skipper MS Dhoni for her achievement.

Enjoyed playing hockey

“When it was time to choose I went with cricket but I really enjoyed playing hockey too. But since last one year, I hardly got any time. I either have under-19 matches or under-23 or zonal matches for the senior team,” the now former centre-forward tells The Indian Express before quickly adding, “I still love hockey though.”

Cricket runs in her family as her father Ivan was a club cricketer and has been a junior coach at St Joseph Scholl, where Jemimah did her schooling.

“I have really worked hard during the off season. Practicing, training twice a day. I used to go to the gym at 8am, then directly to MCA-BKC ground for practice and then go home and practice. By the time I reach home it used to be 8 pm. All the hard work has paid off today,” she said.

Cricket or hockey

“In hockey, you have to continuously bend and you need stamina. A lot of energy and power hitting. The basics in both sports are the same. You need arm power and wrist power. Playing hockey has also helped her in cricket. At the age of 10, she was picked for Maharashtra team in hockey. I thought she will play hockey. But then cricket happened when she was selected for MCA summer camp at the under-16 level,” Ivan, who runs coaching classes in suburban Mumbai further added.

In 2016, Jemimah was the top run-scorer across the country at the U19 cricket with 376 runs. Her consistency in junior cricket continued. She scored 22 runs inter-zonal games for West Zone where she was captain.

However, though she is a good cricketer, her father Ivan took special permission from Mumbai Cricket Association to allow her to complete her studies.

“In her 10th she got 80%. Whenever the camp used to happen in Mumbai or a nearby area, we used to teach her in the evenings. Luckily, I saw her innings today and I just thanked God,” Ivan mentioned.

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