Star India batter Jemimah Rodrigues opened up about the emotional highs and lows she experienced in the lead-up to her match-winning knock in the semi-final against Australia that propelled her team into the final of the Women's Cricket World Cup.

Rodrigues was at her brilliant best in the semi-final against Australia in Navi Mumbai on Thursday as she smashed an unbeaten century that powered India into the Women's ODI World Cup final.

It was a superb return to form for Rodrigues, who was dropped from the India side earlier in the tournament before finding her best with excellent unbeaten knocks against New Zealand and then Australia.

Emotions were running high for Rodrigues after she hit the winning shot off Australia spinner Sophie Molineux, with the India batter putting a difficult few weeks behind her and fulfilling a lifelong dream to lead the side into the World Cup final against South Africa on Sunday.

Jemimah Rodrigues Opens Up On Emotional Challenge

After playing a match-winning knock against Australia in the Women's ODI World Cup semi-final against Australia, Jemimah Rodrigues spoke in depth post-match about the difficulties she has faced in recent times and made mention of those close to her that had never lost faith in her ability to perform on the big stage.

"I'll be very vulnerable here because I know if someone is watching this - might be going through the same thing and that's my whole purpose of saying it because nobody likes to talk about their weakness.

I was going through a lot of anxiety at the start of the tournament and it was a lot before few games also I used to call my mum and cry, cry the entire time, let it all out, because when you're going through anxiety, you just feel numb

"You don't know what to do. You're trying to be yourself. And also at this time, my mum and my dad, they supported me a lot," said Rodrigues.

"And also, there was Arundhati (Reddy) who I think almost every day I've cried in front - almost every day I've cried in front of her.

"Later, I was joking, I said, you don't come in front of me, I'll start crying. But she checked on me every single day. And there was Smriti (Mandhana) who helped me. She also knew what I was going through. A few of the net sessions, she was just standing there. Even yesterday she came. She just stood there just because - didn't say much, but she just knows that her presence is important for me.

"There's been Radha (Yadav) who's always been there taking care of me. I'm so blessed to have friends I can call family, that I didn't have to go through it alone and it's OK to ask for help.

"And that's what happened. And my mum also, she's as emotional as I am, but she went through a lot. My family went through a lot. But everyone stood by me and believed in me when I didn’t, when I couldn't," she added.

The 25-year-old Rodrigues started the tournament with innings of zero, 32, zero and 33, with the right-hander then dropped from the side for the clash with England in Indore as selectors opted to include an extra bowling option.

It was at that point that Rodrigues admitted she started to even doubt herself and whether she was good enough to perform at the highest level.

"It started with the anxiety thing. Then I was dropped from the team and that really hit me," Rodrigues continued.

"When you’re dropped, you have a lot of doubts because I always want to contribute to the team. But that day I couldn't do much sitting out. And then when you come back in, it's a lot more pressure with everything that was happening in the past month.

But sometimes all you need to do is just hang in there and things fall into place. So I'm very grateful for the people who believed in me when I couldn't and were there for me and understood me because I couldn't do this on my own," she added.

Jemimah Rodrigues Determined For The Final

And while Rodrigues was ecstatic to have helped India book their place in the final, the 25-year-old is determined to keep the momentum going and ensure the tournament hosts go that one step further and claim their first Women's World Cup title.

"This knock is very special for me because of everything I went through," Rodrigues said.

"Just to come out here, do it in front of my family, do it in front of my team, do it for the team, do it in front of my people - Navi Mumbai, for the crowd. I think it was, it would be so far my best knock. But I am saving one more for the final," she added.

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