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Royal Challengers Bangalore hadn’t beaten Delhi Capitals in both round-robin games last year in the Women’s Premier League (WPL). The Meg Lanning-led squad made sure they maintained the record in this edition too as the Capitals defeated the Royal Challengers by 25 runs in Bengaluru on Thursday. By virtue of their win, the Delhi Capitals now top the standings, equal on points with RCB and Mumbai Indians but ahead on net run rate.
The hosts won the toss and put DC into bat but the latter became the only the second team in WPL 2024 after RCB to win batting first. Despite losing skipper Lanning (11) in the fifth over, Delhi Capitals were off to a good start thanks to Shafali Verma and Alice Capsey whose second-wicket partnership of 82 from 43 balls helped last year’s runners-up put up a formidable total of 194/5 in their 20 overs. Verma hit a second successive half-century after slamming a match-winning 64 not out against UP Warriorz earlier this week.
On Thursday, the explosive opener hammered three boundaries and four sixes to score 50 off 31. Verma, who was dropped on two by Shreyanka Patil off pacer Renuka Singh, was assisted by Capsey, who contributed with a 33-ball 46. Delhi suffered a hiccup when offie Patil (1/40) removed Verma and medium pacer Nadine de Klerk (2/35) got rid of Capsey with a beautiful yorker. Jemimah Rodrigues (0) too returned to the pavilion without opening her account.
But the Capitals were able to revive their innings thanks to quickfire cameos from Marizanne Kapp (32 off 16) and Jess Jonassen (36 not out off 16). Kapp and Jonassen together scored 48 off 22 before Jonassen and unbeaten Arundhati Reddy (10 off 4) hammered 22 off nine deliveries to propel the Capitals to the biggest score of this edition of WPL 2024 yet.
Sophie Devine was Royal Challengers Bangalore’s best bowler, taking 2/23. In reply, the home team got off to a superb start with Smriti Mandhana hammering DC bowlers all over the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The skipper’s fireworks helped her score 74 off 43 – the second highest score of this edition yet. Mandhana was assisted by Devine (23 off 17) as the openers put together 77.
Devine got out to a full toss but Mandhana kept the run rate up with 10 boundaries and three huge sixes. But the run rate dropped after Mandhana was bowled by Kapp (2/35) on the final ball of the 12th over. The required rate as well as the pressure augmented thereon. Richa Ghosh tried going for the big shots but Sabbhineni Meghana scoring at run-a-ball let the asking rate go above 12. Kapp picked up her second wicket when Ghosh (19 off 13) miscued while going for a big shot.
Shikha Pandey (1/27) and Jonassen (3/21) kept the batters in check maintaining good line and length, delivering many dot balls as Meghana (36 off 31) and Georgia Wareham (6 off 7) failed to accelerate as RCB couldn’t clear the ropes from the 16th to the 18th over. Meghana was put down by Reddy on 24 but could not take RCB to the target as she was run out as RCB lost four more wickets in the last two overs to go down for the first time in this edition of the WPL.
Both teams had brought in one change apiece as RCB’s Ellyse Perry did not play for being unwell and was replaced by WPL debutant de Klerk. DC’s Annabel Sutherland also missed out with Jonassen filling in.