Jemimah Rodrigues continued her brilliant form with the bat in the KIA Women’s Cricket Super League (England’s T20 tournament) on Friday to help her team Yorkshire Diamonds defeat Lancashire Thunder by four wickets.
The Indian middle-order batter hit four boundaries within a space of five balls to take her team over the line with seven deliveries to spare.
Batting first, the Thunder managed to score a competitive 164/5 in their 20 overs. Wicketkeeper Eleanor Threlkeld was the highest scorer with 52 runs, while India’s Harmanpreet Kaur got an important 38 off 32 batting at No 4. Incidentally, it was Rodrigues who took the catch to end her international captain Kaur’s stay at the crease.
In reply, the Diamonds looked in complete control as opener Alyssa Healy anchored the chase with some attractive strokeplay. But her dismissal for 77 off 38 in the 10th over led to her team suffering a collapse.
The Diamonds went from 103 for no loss at the end of the ninth over to 115/5 in 12.2 overs. It was then that Rodrigues, in at No 4, made the match her own. The right-hander remained not out on 43 off 31, showing nerves of steel, to take her team to 168/6 in 18.5 overs.
The 18-year-old has been in remarkable form so far in the tournament, with scores of 32, 42 not out and 58 in her previous three innings. She has made 229 runs in 8 outings so far to be placed in the top 10 run-getters of the tournament. Her compatriots Smriti Mandhana and Kaur are placed third and fourth in the list.