With Jemimah Rodrigues back among runs, the Indian women's team is looking even more formidable. It is a boost to Harmanpreet and the rest of the players as they look to sign off from their Australian tour on a high and go all out for a series win when they play the hosts in two back-to-back women's T20I at the Metricon Stadium in Gold Coast on the weekend.
Fired by Jemimah's 36-ball 49 not out in the first T20I on Thursday night, India, having galloped to 131 for four in 15.2 overs, looked set for a big score before rain forced the match to be abandoned, and denied the 21-year-old a half-century.
Having lost her place in the limited overs side after her failures against South Africa at home and in the ODIs on the England tour, the Mumbai young gun made a superb comeback in India's T20I side. It's clear that it was her blazing form in The Hundred - which saw her hit three fifties for the Northern Chargers including a 43-ball unbeaten 92- that scripted her return to the Indian team.
At the post-match presser, the Mumbaikar admitted that if not for 'The Hundred', she wouldn't even have played T20s on this tour.
"There's so much to learn, but it wasn't an easy time for me. There are lots of things going on sitting out, there were a lot of doubts in my head, but I'm grateful to be a part of this team. If not for The Hundred, I don't think I would've even been selected to play for India," Jemimah said.
The youngster confessed to being disappointed at having to sit out of the ODI series and the pink ball Test in Australia despite being in good form of late.
"Honestly, any player would be frustrated not getting picked for ODIs especially when I knew I was batting well and in good form. But in the end, I'm ready for what the team wants, and if the team was finding the right balance, I'm happy sitting out," she said.
With skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh taking care of the big hitting department, the brief to Jemimah by India's coaching staff is simple: play the anchor's role, rotate the strike and hit the odd boundary-all at good pace.
