IND W vs AUS W 3rd T20I: Smriti Mandhana heaps praise on Jemimah Rodrigues

India vicecaptain Smriti Mandhana said the bold approach of Jemimah Rodrigues helped her find the perfect rhythm after a tepid beginning to the innings which played a defining role in her sidersquos thrilling 17run victory over Australia in the third and final T20I here on SaturdayMandhana smashed 82 off 55 balls 8x4 3x6 while Jemimah Rodrigues struck 59 off 46 deliveries as the two senior batters stitched a commanding 121run stand to propel India to 176 for six after electing to batIndiarsquos bowlers then seized control as young spinner Shreyanka Patil 322 and pace spearhead Renuka Singh 129 ripped through the top order to leave Australia reeling at 32 for 3 The early strikes set the tone for a dominant display as India eventually restricted hosts to 159 for 9 Young leftarm spinner Shree Charani 332 underlined her credentials as wellldquoWhen she Jemimah came in I think I was 16ball 15 runs and still getting my timing and she came in got three or four boundaries got the momentum going and I could take some timerdquo Mandhana said in the postmatch presentationldquoThose small things donrsquot really get noticed but I feel when she Jemimah came in and got those quick 23 boundaries it calmed me down as well So credit to her for coming in and playing that sort of a knockrdquo said Mandhana about her innings which helped India win its first T20I series Down Under after 2016Mandhana said that beating Australia was a remarkable achievement but added that the teamrsquos focus now shifts to their next challenge the threematch ODI series starting in Brisbane on Tuesday ldquoIt was good to contribute to the series win Beating Australia in Australia is something really special Irsquom really happy for the team and glad that I could contribute Jemi coming in and making me run all those twos but yeah itrsquos a really good partnership between Jemi and meldquoWe did beat them in 2016 when we had come here but I think wersquove played T20 after a very long time in Australia so beating them is really nice but we will move on to the ODI series and not celebrate too muchrdquo added MandhanaIndia skipper Harmanpreet Kaur praised Mandhana and Jemimah ldquoIt win means a lot itrsquos a complete team effort So really good to see that everybodyrsquos coming up and contributing Every partnership was very important Thatrsquos what we discussed in the team meetings that we have to keep taking the responsibility They both played a very big rolerdquo she said2016The last time India defeated Aus women in a series Down Under mdash in T20Is by a 21 margin9No of years since Australia women lost a whiteball series at home8No of 50plus scores for Smriti Mandhana vs Australia in WT20Is mdash the most by any player121No of runs scored during Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodriguesrsquos partnership vs Australia mdash Indiarsquos highest ever for the second wicket in WT20Is2500No of WT20I runs completed by Jemimah Rodrigues during her 59 against Australia on Saturday mdash only the third Indian to do so after Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur350No of international games played by Ellyse Perry mdash the first Australian womenrsquos cricketer to do soThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever