Harmanpreet Kaur in awe of Jemimah Rodrigues after India script perfect David-Goliath story: 'She always keeps...'

Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur stitched together a 167-run stand for the third wicket.

India Women beat Australia at the Women's World Cup semifinals, clinching a five-wicket victory in Navi Mumbai. Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. will now face South Africa in the final on Sunday. It was Jemimah Rodrigues, who proved to be the match-winner for the hosts, smacking an unbeaten knock of 127* runs off 134 balls, packed with 14 fours. Chasing 339 runs, India reached 341/5 in 48.3 overs, with skipper Harmanpreet also narrowly missing out on a ton. Harmanpreet registered 89 off 88 balls, in what was a crucial knock during the run chase. Meanwhile, Kim Garth took two wickets for the Aussies.

India`s Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur run between wickets. (Raju Shinde)

Initially, Australia posted 338 in 49.5 overs, courtesy of Phoebe Litchfield's century. The Aussie opener slammed 119 runs off 93 balls, and after the first innings, thought that it was the perfect score for her side. For India's bowling department, Nallapureddy Charani and Deepti Sharma bagged two-wicket hauls respectively.

Speaking during the post-match ceremony, Harmanpreet was also asked about Jemimah's role in the win, and the Indian skipper was full of praise. "Yeah, definitely. Jemimah is someone who always wants to do really well for the team because she is someone who is always very calculative and wants to take the responsibility and we always have that trust on her and today was a very special knock from her. We both of us had a very good time on the pitch. Whenever we were batting, we were just complimenting each other and calculating and she was doing all the calculations there for me and I think that was something she is always in the game and I really enjoy batting with her," she said.

"Before I go, she always keeps telling me, we've got five runs, we've got two more balls left. So before I say anything, she is already saying it to me. So I think that shows how involved she is and I was just so amazed to see what she was thinking and how she was even pushing myself. So I think we should give a lot of credit to her for the way she kept her hold and keep batting for the team," she added.

During the run chase, India lost both openers early, and it required a partnership from an experienced duo to steady the ship. It came from Jemimah, who was promoted up the order, as she stitched together a match-winning partnership with Harmanpreet, putting in a 167-run stand for the third wicket.