Indian batter Jemimah Rodrigues has revealed how a conversation with Virat Kohli helped her during the World Cup 2025 semifinal knock against Australia. Rodrigues played one of the best knocks in Women World Cup history as she played a brilliant innings of 127 runs off 134 balls in the run-chase of 339 against Australia. India registered a memorable five-wicket win to make it to the summit clash.

Team India lost early wickets of their opening pair, Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana, but Rodrigues added 167 runs with captain Harmanpreet Kaur to steady the ship. 

India’s win also broke the record of the highest run-chase in Women ODIs, going past Australia’s 331, which they recently made against India at Vizag.

The right-hander recalled his chat with Virat Kohli when she asked the veteran batter about his epic MCG knock against Pakistan.

“I had spoken to Virat once. I had asked him about that Melbourne knock. It was a crazy knock. I asked him what was going on in his mind. He told me even if you ask me to replicate that knock, I can’t. I was just grateful that god chose me in that moment to take India home. And I remembered what he said in that semifinal. You are just chosen for that moment, and things happen, and I can’t take credit for that,” she said on ‘Breakfast with Champions’.

Meanwhile, Rodrigues said the team was in a good space after they came to know about their semifinal opponents in Australia.

“We got to know after New Zealand that we are playing Australia in the semifinal. But there was a different kind of peace about it. Someone also spoke about it that Australia is actually more vulnerable in a semifinal than in a final. For our bowlers to pull back the way we did in the last ten overs and restrict them, it became like a perspective thing. I was preparing for 400, but 339 was chasable. We thought they were 20 short,” she said.

India registered their maiden World Cup triumph after beating South Africa in the final.