Jemimah Rodrigues profits from Sachin Tendulkar's masterclass

This was Jemimah Rodrigues' third meeting with Sachin Tendulkar, the first one being when she was 10

Team India's batswoman Jemimah Rodrigues, 18, had an intense half-an-hour session under the watchful eyes of batting icon Sachin Tendulkar at the MIG Cricket Club yesterday. Jemimah, who proceeded to Jaipur to participate in the Women's T20 Challenge, was also given vital tips from the legendary batsman on how to deal with expectations.

This was Jemimah's third meeting with Tendulkar, the first one being when she was 10. The second interaction came about when Tendulkar called her to his home after Jemimah was picked for the South Africa tour last year. Yesterday, while Tendulkar was coaching kids of the Tendulkar Middlesex Global Academy, he cleared all her doubts and motivated her to hit the high notes for the Harmanpreet Kaur-led Supernovas team in Jaipur for the IPL exhibition games.

"He [Tendulkar] spoke about the message you send to your brain and how you give it in a positive way. He said, all these one billion people are with you; they are supporting you; they are not sitting on your mind, they are supporting you, backing you and working with you. So, with such support you are going to go out there with confidence," Jemimah told mid-day yesterday.

Jemimah was batting well at the MIG nets initially, but later, she started thinking and playing differently. Tendulkar spotted that. "He advised me to occupy my mind with something else [while batting]. He gave me his own example. He used to ask himself a question, 'whom am I playing for?' just to keep a blank mind. He told me, I will be at my best when I react instinctively to the ball. So, sometimes I sing a song, sometimes I just think about a scripture from the Bible," Jemimah said.

"Before going to South Africa — my debut tour — Sachin Sir called me to his home and asked, 'Are you nervous?' I said, 'Yes, I am nervous as this is my first tour.' He then made me very comfortable and I really love his mindset… always positive, believes strongly in sending the right message across. At that time he said, some nervousness is good because it means you care for your game," remarked Jemimah, who has figured in 10 ODIs and 25 T20Is.

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