Delhi, India: India's ICC Women's T2o World Cup campaign got off to a great start in Cape Town with a 7-wicket victory over Pakistan. India's 11th victory in 14 T20 matches against regional rivals was this one. Jemimah Rodrigues, an India batter, stated that the "extraordinary" superstar Virat Kohli was the driving force behind India's victory.
Kohli's blistering 82 not out off 53 balls in India's four-wicket victory against Pakistan in the Men's T20 World Cup last year inspired Rodrigues, who hit an unbeaten 53 off 38 deliveries to lead her team to victory.
According to the 22-year-old, "India vs. Pakistan matches are always a little bit more special -- we spoke about it in the team meeting."
"When we were kids, we always watched these games. I vividly recall watching Virat Kohli's remarkable knock during the MCG match.
"We did talk about it, but we also wanted to go out and get our first win. We simply desired to play cricket the same way and with the same level of intensity as usual.
In her previous 10 T20 international innings, Rodrigues had only scored over 30 runs, which was troubling going into the World Cup. However, she was the star of the show on Sunday, with the assistance of 19-year-old wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh, who scored 31 runs without being out.
Rodrigues stated at a news conference, "This innings means a lot to me -- I hadn't been getting scores for a long time."
"It's definitely not a fun time to be a batter when you don't score. I was working very hard in the nets, and I knew I was going to the gym and putting in the effort.
"It was extremely difficult, but it came when it mattered most, so it was very special for me."