Jemimah Rodrigues keen to look forward after India ignominious opener

India will be looking for a response and fast following Friday’s heavy defeat to New Zealand in their opening match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024.

The 58-run loss to the third-highest ranked team in Group A leaves India in a tricky early position in the standings, with defending champions Australia the favourites to top a group that is fascinatingly poised after two results that defied the form book.

Batter Jemimah Rodrigues knows the team needs to move on from the disappointment quickly.

“Going forward, I think we need to have the right approach because the tournament’s not over,” Rodrigues said in India’s post-match press conference.

“We need to take some positives from this game and a lot of learnings from this game,” she said.

India were on the back foot early in the game as New Zealand’s openers got off to a fast start, but Rodrigues says the pace of the Kiwis’ scoring did not come as a surprise, an

“We knew that any team would come hard at us, and I think they came out with a lot of intent. We did create opportunities, but unfortunately we didn’t make the most of it," she said.

India’s number four instead opted to look at her own part in a batting display that fell way short of the team’s expectations.

Rodrigues chipped a simple catch to mid-on to depart for 13, and the 24-year-old annoyed at herself for not playing more of a rebuilding role after the team had earlier slipped to 42/3.

“I know with my game I’m ready to bat anywhere the team wants me. Today, because I was batting well, I had some form in the warm-up games, it was my responsibility to make sure we built a partnership after losing wickets," she said.

“Today would be the game we’d like to forget. This is a World Cup, and we need to keep moving on and picking ourselves up – we can’t say stuck on this game. We need to pick ourselves up and show the character of this team,” Rodrigues said.

Next up for India’s it’s a fixture against neighbours Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday – a match that now takes on even greater significance, with the 2020 finalists needing a victory to stabilise the campaign.

But Pakistan will not be an easy test on the evidence of their opening-day performance, which saw them upset Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka.(UNI)