Rodrigues held his own with a superlative 127 that didn’t help India topple world-dominating Australia in their maiden title last year in Navi Mumbai. She said it was Tendulkar’s input that helped her stay focused.
“Sachin sir called my coach, Prashant Shetty. He asked him to tell me that he understood that the last few days had been a lot for me, the big blow against Australia in the semi-final, the joy of beating them,” Rodrigues told JioHotstar.
Read More: Hardik Pandya ruled out of Afghanistan ODIs due to injury: sources
“But he reminded me that the job wasn’t over yet. We still had a final to win. He told me, ‘try to put that aside and start from scratch.’ That message really helped me reset my mind.
“I understood that what you did before will not make you win the next match. You have to treat each match as a new beginning. That advice from a legend gave me a lot of clarity before the final,” he added.
In the final against South Africa, Shafali Verma’s all-round show (87 and 2/36) made the difference. The first batter said her father’s words of encouragement were helpful at the time. “We had two days off before the final. My dad sent me a voice note. He told me, ‘Just work hard. Do your best on the field and it has to be in writing that Shafali Verma helped India win the World Cup,'” Shafali said.
“That voice note gave me a little extra fire. I knew I had to perform not only for myself, but for him and the team. It pushed me to give everything I had on the field,” he added.
Read more: We’ve crossed the line once and we can do it again: Jemimah Rodrigues on the upcoming T20 World Cup
The reigning ODI world champions are preparing for their first match of the tournament in the T20 World Cup against arch-rivals Pakistan in Birmingham on Sunday.
