'We Need To Accept...' - Jemimah Rodrigues Reflects On Poor Fielding After Series Defeat Against AUS
Australia won the series by 3-0. [PC: X]
India batter Jemimah Rodrigues opened up after the huge 3-0 loss in the recently concluded three-match series against Australia in Mumbai. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side suffered a heavy 190-run defeat in the third ODI against Australia on Tuesday, leading to a complete whitewash, for the first time since 2018.
Australia women, on the back of a brilliant century from opener Phoebe Litchfield, posted a mammoth 338-run total for the loss of 7 wickets in the first innings. In reply, the women in blue got bowled out for just 148 and registered their third biggest defeat by the margin of runs in one day internationals.
It has been the combination of a lot of errors made by the Indians, from being horridly poor on the field to lack of discipline shown by the bowlers. Moreover, batters failed to finish games after taking control in the major part of the run chase. There is a lot of work to do behind the scenes in the 50-over format to come neck to neck with the current reigning world champions.
Speaking after the game, Jemimah admitted the team had performed way below its potential and there is no excuse to deny it. The 23-year-old further added that the team is constantly working to be better in the fielding department and will definitely bounce back stronger.
“I don't think there's any reason we can give because we need to accept what we've done. We've not played to our potential. Especially in the fielding department, a lot of work needs to be done,” Jemimah said.
Jemimah went on to acknowledge Australia’s will to come back from adversity as they did here in the ODIs after losing the one-off Test last month. This one thing is what the current Indian team lacks, the ability to fight back and there is a reason this Australian side is regarded as one of the best in history as their ability to bounce back after being pushed behind is second to none.
“Obviously, there's a lot of learning points. When we reflect back on our own game and also the way the Aussies played, in the Test match we completely dominated them, but what I would learn is the way they got back after a fall,” Jemimah added.
India Women and Australia Women will be back in action later this week as they will be up against each other in the three-match T20I series with the first encounter scheduled to take place on Friday, January 5 in Navi Mumbai.
The hosts would like to take a lot of learnings from the ODIs and make a strong comeback in the T20Is. On the other side, Australia will be hoping to sustain their good form from the ODIs and head back home with another series win.
 "Kaushik Kashyap")
