It’s okay not to be okay.
Isa Guha, the former England medium pacer-turned-commentator, feels Jemimah Rodrigues’s emotional speech addressing her anxiety after playing a match-winning 127 not out in the World Cup semi-final against Australia was an act of courage, not vulnerability.
“It was quite courageous of Jemi to talk about her anxiety and struggles. What she has been able to achieve despite what she faced gives a lot of inspiration to a lot of
people. You can still do magical stuff even if you aren’t 100 per cent. That’s what Jemi has proved,” Isa, here for Sunday’s final, told The Telegraph on Saturday.
Isa believes the 25-year-old always had the ability to produce game-changing and match-winning knocks. “I feel Jemi always had this ability to be a 360-degree player, someone who can strike the ball to all parts of the ground.
“In terms of running between the wickets, she’s an expert. It’s a bit surprising why she couldn’t do it before. In such a close situation (on Thursday) with the final at stake, you need to have serious determination to take your team through. And Jemi did seem possessed that day,” Isa, who represented England in eight Tests, 83 ODIs and 22 T20Is, said.
Isa believes the Marizanne Kapp-led South African
bowling group will have a tough time restricting the Indian batters.
“It’s difficult to get a 360-degree player like Jemi out cheaply. What the Proteas women need to do is plug that ramp shot of hers and make sure they force her for other options. As a seamer, you need to have the mid-on up with a deep cover and long-off when bowling to Jemi,” Isa advised.
Sunday’s decider is essentially a contest between India’s batting and South Africa’s bowling. The veteran Kapp, currently the highest wicket-taker in Women’s ODI World Cups with 44 scalps, has a vital role to play. But she must avoid giving width, particularly when bowling to Smriti Mandhana.
“You can’t offer Smriti width. Kapp can bowl the middle-and-off (stump) line and nip it away, which for a left-hander, comes back in. With the red-soil pitch, quicks can get a little bit of movement when the ball’s new,” the 40-year-old explained.
The toss, however, will again be crucial, agreed Isa.
India’s struggling pace attack is a bit of a concern for skipper Harmanpreet Kaur. But Isa believes it’s not just the Indians, but fast bowlers in general who have had a hard time in this tournament. “More or less, all pace attacks have struggled. There have been several moments when they have found the going difficult.
“As for the Indian pacers, Kranti Gaud, if she keeps it straight and up, can do well. Kapp has had some success, thanks to her experience, while the conditions in
Guwahati also helped her (in the semi-final against England). In pitches that are good and the ball not gripping, it has been tough for quicks, more so with just four fielders outside the inner circle,” Isa explained.
