Harmanpreet Kaur's dismissal in the knockout match

Perhaps not anymore, as she has now turned the tables. But, chasing the final target against the unbeaten defending champions in their home World Cup semi-final, India needed 113 runs from 88 balls at the DY Patil Stadium on Thursday. They had a tired but well-established Jemimah Rodrigues in the middle order, and several in-form all-rounders behind her. But in a familiar challenge, where India's dreams have been dashed time and again, Rodrigues and her team struggled not only with the pressure of the scoreboard but also with their history.

"I wanted to go out there and play with a positive mindset, no matter what," said Deepti Sharma, the first of the three all-rounders who, along with Rodrigues, took India to the finish line. "At that point, we needed about 7 or 8 runs per over. My role in that situation—with Jamie at the other end—was simply to bridge the gap between the required runs and the remaining balls. I went into the innings with that mindset."

Deepti (24 off 17 balls) started at a reasonable run-per-ball rate and then took calculated risks early in her short stay to ease the pressure. Her lofted shot over midwicket off Australia's best bowler, Annabel Sutherland, in the slog overs; a clever shot to retain strike off the last ball, and then sending their most successful spinner, Alana King, straight down the ground—all gave Rodrigues some respite.

Richa Ghosh then came on when India needed 75 runs from the last nine overs. She wasted no time in sending Megan Schutt's clever slower-one delivery over the sightscreen and into the ground. Then came a blistering performance against Ash Gardner, the highlight of which was an 83-meter six over the same corner where the Australian had hit two sixes in the first counter-attack. Now she watched the ball go away in despair.

Sutherland bowled a short ball, and Australia made a strong comeback. India had only Amanjot Kaur as a good batter left before their weak tailenders were exposed.

The defeat against England in the last 16 was still fresh. Rodrigues was unnecessarily benched and powerless, but Amanjot also found the challenge daunting. Chasing a target of 289, they fell victim to a rash shot from Smriti Mandhana at 234/4, Ghosh at 256/5 in the 46th over, and Deepti at 262/6 an over later. They saw the equation of 27 runs in 18 balls shrink to 15 runs in the last over and ultimately lost by four runs—the third consecutive defeat, which increased doubts, questions, criticism, and pressure.

After reaching the crease, having a brief conversation with the non-striker, several fist bumps, and experiencing the conditions firsthand, there was no time to waste many balls before making a last-minute decision. Steady the ship or take an aggressive approach? Amanjot met Rodrigues and immediately asked him the same question—should I attack the bowlers or should you?—when the target was set at 29 runs in 24 balls.

Rodrigues's reply came calmly. "He said, 'We're both good runners. We'll finish it.'" After playing his part in the world-record chase, Amanjot recalled their conversation on the field. “He advised, ‘Focus on the ball, the pitch is good, and we should do that.’” After one ball, I understood exactly what he meant – it really was a great pitch. He said we should finish it with one over remaining, and we did exactly that."

Sophie Molineux returned to the attack with a short ball, and there was no protection in the deep on the offside—enough cue for Rodrigues to close the gap between backward point and cover. Against her Delhi Capitals teammate Sutherland, she deliberately scooped the ball over a disappointed keeper. After a wide ball, she smashed it over backward point for a four—it proved to be a costly over, costing 15 runs.

With only eight runs remaining in the final two overs, Amanjot decided it was time to do what she had always envisioned—the penultimate over. She took just three balls—two fours and two sixes between them—and blew the Aussies away. "It was a special cameo, but most of the credit goes to Jamie. She came on to bat in the second over. It was difficult to swing the bat in that heat and humidity,” she said.

“When Richa got out, the match could have gone either way. We didn't want the momentum to go their way.” Agreeing with Rodrigues, Amanjot didn't mention her regrets from the England match, but it was on her mind. “Against England, I had a chance, but I didn't take it. I felt I pushed it too far—12 [15] runs in the last over would have been too much, and I didn't want to repeat that.” “We decided we would target a specific bowler.