"At the stroke of the midnight hour, the Indian women’s team made their own tryst with destiny."
These words, by Jatin Sapru, a noted cricket commentator, encapsulate India's huge win in ICC Women's World Cup. The victory has made headlines and so has another name, that of the star batter, Jemimah Rodrigues. Yet, what's missing in those headlines is the right-wing vitriol against her and her faith.
On 2 November, in DY Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai, after India's openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma laid a strong foundation, then came Jemimah. The tensions in the stadium were palpable. On 24 runs, her journey in the game was cut short by South Africa's captain Laura Wolvaardt. Still, she did a fine job in building the middle-overs.
It is no news that there has been targeted gendered trolling of our women cricketers online, case in point, the ‘go back to your kitchen’ posts among other sexist jokes.
However, right-wing accounts, several verified ones too have gone a step ahead and continued to attack Jemimah for belonging to and affirming her Christian faith.