Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) [India], December 22 : Jemimah Rodrigues played a match-winning knock as India Women chased down a target of 122 with ease to defeat Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the first T20I at Visakhapatnam on Sunday.
Rodrigues was the standout performer with the bat, remaining unbeaten on 69 off 44 balls, an innings laced with ten boundaries. Her composed yet aggressive knock ensured that India completed the chase comfortably and went 1-0 up in the series.
After being named Player of the Match, Rodrigues spoke about her mindset during the innings and the importance of making the most of good form.
"100 per cent, that was the mindset. When the runs are coming, I need to capitalise," she said.
Known for her ability to find gaps, Rodrigues added, "They can put four to five fielders to stop that late cut, I will still find the gaps."
Reflecting on her approach, she said her focus was on understanding the conditions.
"For me, it was to understand the conditions," she noted.
"It was slightly sticky, not as flat as everyone initially thought. I was in good touch and my mindset was simple. In my mind, I was blank and I was just reacting to the ball," she explained.
"We have been going really well," she added.
Looking ahead, Rodrigues made it clear that the team's focus is firmly on the bigger goal, "What has happened in the past has happened. What's next is the T20 World Cup. We just want to win that."
Rodrigues also spoke about facing Sri Lankan bowler (Shashini) Gimhani, acknowledging the preparation that went into her innings.
"Our video analysts told us that she is very good. She is a rising star and will do well for Sri Lanka. I was just reacting to her deliveries and playing over the fielder," she said.
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur was pleased with the overall performance but admitted there are areas that need improvement, particularly in the field.
"With bat and ball, yes, we did well. But we are working on our fielding. I don't know why we keep dropping catches," she said.
While conditions were slightly challenging, Harmanpreet refused to offer excuses, "It is wet out here, but that is not an excuse. That is something we really need to think about. Next match, we will come back with a better approach."
Explaining the decision to bowl first, Harmanpreet said the team wanted to ease back into competitive cricket.
"We are playing after a month. We didn't want to unnecessarily challenge ourselves. We just wanted to do well for the team, bowl first and see how it goes, and show a better approach," she added.
Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu admitted her side fell short with the bat and needs to improve quickly.
"120 is not a good total. We have to bounce back in the next game," she said.
Athapaththu felt her team made too many mistakes during the middle overs, "We did a lot of mistakes in the middle. We have to play positive cricket there."
She also spoke about dealing with conditions and taking responsibility as captain.
"We can't play the conditions, we have to play in these conditions. Hopefully, we can play better cricket in the next few days. We need to improve a few areas, especially in batting. We played very defensive cricket and we have to be positive. I have to show more responsibility and lead from the front. I hope the youngsters also do better," she said.