Jemimah Rodrigues: I was confident even when 41 were required off 24

India’s Jemimah Rodrigues celebrates hitting the winning runs v Pakistan. Pic/AFP

Player of the match for scoring match-winning 38-ball unbeaten 53 in a seven-wicket win in India's Women's T20 World Cup opener here on Sunday, Jemimah Rodrigues said it special to score runs in front of her parents, who witnessed the Indo-Pak clash from the stands.

"Yeah, this feels sweet you know, like when it mattered the most it came and like I'm grateful to Jesus and my parents [who] were here today so it's even more special. They've never experienced an India-Pakistan game," Rodrigues said at the post-match press conference.

"I was confident throughout even when I think I remember it was 24 balls 41. I knew any target is achievable if we just keep doing the simple things correctly. I took it over by over."

Rodrigues also looked back at her ODI World Cup snub and called that a very difficult phase for her.

Also Read: Can't wait for Women's T20 WC to get started come Feb 10: Jemimah Rodrigues

"I think this time last year when I was at home and I was not in a good headspace because I was dropped from [India's] 50 World Cup squad. That was the toughest time for me, but there was so many people who helped me throughout this time," Rodrigues said.

"Honestly, many a time I had nothing to tell myself. There were so many times I had given up, I didn't have the strength to carry [on] and I know, a lot of people say you need to back yourself, you need to motivate yourself but when a person is going through [it], they only know what they're going through," an emotional Rodrigues bared her heart during the interaction.

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