India’s Jemimah Rodrigues has spoken about the emotional and mental challenges she faced in the weeks leading up to her match-winning unbeaten (127) against Australia in the ICC Women’s World Cup semi-final on Thursday in Mumbai. Her remarkable innings powered India to a nail-biting victory over the defending champions, which also helped the hosts advance to the final of the game. Notably, Jemimah had been dropped from the India side earlier in the tournament before finding her mojo back with a breathtaking knock against New Zealand.

"I will be very vulnerable here because I know if someone is watching, they might be going through the same thing, and that's my whole purpose of saying it. Nobody likes to talk about their weakness. I was going through a lot of anxiety at the starting of the tournament," she said during the press conference.

"It was a lot, you know, before few games also, I used to call my mom and cry the entire time, let it all out. Because when you are going through anxiety, you just feel numb. You don't know what to do. You are trying to be yourself. And also in this time, my mum, my dad, they supported me a lot. And also there was Arundhati (Reddy), who I think almost every day I have cried in front of her.

"Later I was joking, saying 'you don't come in front of me, I will start crying.' But she checked on me every single day. There was Smriti (Mandhana), who helped me. She also knew what I was going through. Few of the net sessions, she was just standing there. Even yesterday she came; she just stood there, just because she just knows that her presence is important for me. There has been Radha (Yadav), who has, always been there, taking care of me. I am so blessed to have friends, I can call family, that I didn't have to go through it alone. And it's okay to ask for help."

Chasing 339 for victory, India seemed in trouble early on before Rodrigues anchored the innings, guiding India home with an unbeaten 127 from 134 balls. It was the best innings of her career that carried India into the final of the tournament.

"I mean, how do I rate this innings? Actually, I have not let it sink in. All I would say was I didn't play for my 100. I didn't play to prove a point at No. 3. I didn't play for my 50. I just played to make sure India win. I wanted to see India win at the end and that was my only motivation," she said.

"I think when you have that thought process, I think God also favours you. You do it for the team, you don't do it for yourself. And I think I have always played my cricket that way. I'm short of words actually."