Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 26 : Ahead of her side's final league stage ICC Women's T20 World Cup match against Australia, Indian batter Jemimah Rodrigues said that Australia is a team that does not let other teams settle, and it is important not to be defensive against such an attacking, pressure-putting opponent.
Team India will take on Australia in their last league stage clash of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup at the iconic Lord's venue on Sunday, with the match determining India's chances for the semifinals. India are placed second in the points table with three wins and a loss, with six points and has South Africa just behind them at third spot with same record. South Africa enjoys the advantage of playing a weaker side, Bangladesh, but India are pitted against Australia, who have six ICC Women's T20 WC titles.
Speaking on JioStar's 'Champions Huddle', Jemimah highlighted the importance of being attacking against Australia. Who else knows attack better than Jemimah, who immortalised her name with a sensational 127* in 134 balls at Navi Mumbai to chase down a record-breaking 339 against Australia in the 2025 ICC Women's World Cup semifinal. However, with just 58 runs in four innings in the ongoing T20 WC with best score of 26, Jemimah is yet to fire.
"The thing about Australia is that they never let you settle. They are always attacking, always putting pressure. If you want to do well against them, you can't be defensive. You must dominate and take the game to them, and our team enjoys that challenge. We know there is no other way. You must match their intensity and stay ahead. That kind of mindset works well for us," she said,
She highlighted how Shafali Varma (493 runs in 23 innings with two fifties at a strike rate of over 140 in T20Is against Australia) and pacer Renuka Thakur (16 wickets in 18 T20Is at an average of 29.93 with a four-wicket haul in T20Is against Australia) have done well against Australia and the team has quite a lot of experience facing them. Jemimah said that the team needs to go and show their aggressive intent and "everything will fall in place".
"Shafali Verma has played a lot against them. Renuka has also bowled well against Australia in the past. Most of our players have good experience against them. We have faced them many times. But on the day, it all comes down to execution. We just need to go out there, back ourselves, and play with that aggressive intent. If we do that, I think everything will fall into place," she added.
Head coach Amol Muzumdar also highlighted the challenge he faced with India on taking the head coach gig back in October 2023, with the team needing a "shake up, a change in mindset, approach and attitude" and now the team looks different from what it was before he took up the job.
"We introduced new systems, new roles, and challenged the players to take more responsibility. The players responded well to the changes we brought in. They bought into the new plans and started backing each other. The results on the field are there for everyone to see. This Indian women's team is very different from what it was two years ago. Talking about Australia, they are a very strong side. Everyone knows that. They have world-class players in every department. But so are we. We are not behind them in any way. We went to Australia and beat them 2-1 in a T20 series. That was the first time India has ever beaten Australia in a T20 series. That win gave us a lot of belief. We can take confidence from that and prepare ourselves well for the World Cup clash," he signed off.