Watch- Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues Involved In Furious Stare Down As Tempers Flare

Jemimah-Mandhana in heated exchange [Source: Screengrab/SonyLiv]

Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues are best friends, and the two have been like a family ever since their India debut. They share a sisterly bond with each other, but sometimes, even sisters can have an argument, and that’s exactly what happened between the two in the Women’s T20 World Cup match vs Australia.

The Indian pair had a mix-up during India’s batting, and it resulted in Mandhana’s dismissal, as the southpaw seemed to be visibly frustrated with her batting partner as India lost her wicket at a crucial juncture.

Mandhana, Jemimah furious with each other during World Cup match vs Australia

The opening pair of Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma gave a solid start to the team, as the pair added 66 runs for the opening wicket. Shafali was the first to be dismissed as Jemimah joined hands with her best friend. However, 17 runs later, disaster struck, and the Women in Blue lost yet another wicket.

The incident occurred in the 12th over when Georgia Wareham bowled a flighted ball to Jemimah, and the Indian batter reverse swept it towards the short third man fielder.

Mandhana charged for a quick single, but her partner was looking at the ball as she didn’t hear the call from Mandhana.

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@avbvikash1810

What a tuk-tuk knock by Smriti Mandhana on a match-winning day. 🥵🐢

Jun 28, 2026, 8:05 PM

The fielder saw the run-out opportunity as the ball was thrown towards the non-striker's end and the left-handed opener was sent packing. The two batters were involved in an argument as the southpaw walked back to the pavilion in anger.

Smriti Mandhana did apologise to Jemi, but there was a sudden burst of anger as the two almost had a heated staredown.

Mandhana plays sluggish knock in must-win clash

India batted first, and on a batting surface, the Indian opener struggled to score runs. This put pressure on Shafali Verma, who scored a quickfire 34 off 26 balls before she got dismissed. On the other hand, it was an off-day for her batting partner, who couldn’t score boundaries at will.

Also Read: Smriti Mandhana-Shafali Verma Pair Achieves Highest Feat In Women’s T20I Cricket

At one stage, Mandhana was playing at a strike-rate of less than 100 as pressure mounted on her to score runs at a rapid pace in a must-win clash against Australia.

However, the left-handed batter failed to deliver the goods 38 off 37 balls, with a strike rate of 102.70 before she, too, got dismissed.

Harmanpreet takes India to commanding total after Jemimah-Mandhana mix-up

After Mandhana was dismissed, Jemimah, too, played a slow knock as she was retired hurt by the Indian management. At one stage, it looked like the Women in Blue would score in the region of 150, but skipper Harmanpreet Kaur had some other plans.

The Indian skipper was at her aggressive best as she punished the Australian attack with utmost ease, and she scored a 25-ball fifty to take the Indian side to a commanding 170/4.

The right-handed batter scored 56 runs, and gave a finishing flurry as the Indian side have a strong total to defend for a place in the semis.

Also Read: Heavy Rain Stops IND Vs IRE 2nd T20I; Belfast Weather Update