Another Women’s Premier League final, another heartbreak for Delhi Capitals (DC) and their fans. They lost to Mumbai Indians (MI) by eight runs at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
In the inaugural season in 2023, at the same venue, MI had defeated DC. This was a perfect chance for DC to avenge that and win their first title. But now, three WPL seasons have ended in heartbreak for them, as MI secured their second.
DC needed 52 runs from 30 balls, with Niki Prasad and Marizanne Kapp at the crease. Saika Ishaque came on to bowl, but Kapp attacked and smashed her for two fours and a six. The 17-run over brought the equation down to 35 from four overs. In the next over, Shabnim Ismail gave away just two runs in the first five balls. Niki kept her cool and hit a boundary off the last.
Then came the game-changing over from Nat Sciver-Brunt. She dismissed Kapp (40 off 26) and Shikha Pandey off consecutive balls. Hayley Matthews then struck again, but Niki was still at the crease. She smashed Matthews for a six and took a single off the last ball, keeping the strike for the final over. DC needed 14 runs from the last six legal deliveries.
However, Nat used all her experience and varied her pace brilliantly. She conceded only five runs, as Niki remained unbeaten on 25 off 23 balls.
DC had started well by winning the toss and opting to bowl first. Shree Charani replaced Titas Sadhu in the playing XI, a move expected due to the conditions. MI, playing their fourth match in six days, stuck to an unchanged XI.
Meg Lanning’s decision worked well, as DC restricted MI to 149/7 in 20 overs. Given the conditions and the expected dew factor, the target seemed within reach for DC’s strong batting line-up.
But Nat and Ismail had other plans. WPL’s most successful opening duo, Lanning (13 off 9) and Shafali Verma (4 off 9), were dismissed early. The spin duo of Amelia Kerr and Saika took three wickets, putting DC in deep trouble at 66/5 in 10.4 overs. Jemimah Rodrigues looked promising but fell for 30 off 21 balls to Amelia. Sarah Bryce also got run out quickly.
Earlier, MI skipper Harmanpreet Kaur led from the front with a superb 66 off 44 balls at a strike rate of 150.00. Nat added 30 off 28 balls and, in the process, crossed the 500-run mark for the season and 1,000 runs in WPL history.
DC’s bowlers, especially Marizanne Kapp, were brilliant with the new ball. She dismissed both MI openers, Matthews (3 off 10) and Yastika Bhatia (8 off 14), reducing them to 14/2. Harmanpreet and Nat then rebuilt the innings with an 89-run partnership for the third wicket.
Late contributions from G Kamalini (10 off 7) and Amanjot Kaur (14* off 7) helped MI reach 149.
Apart from Kapp, Charani and Jess Jonassen took two wickets each, while Annabel Sutherland claimed one. However, some questions were raised over Lanning’s decisions in the final overs.
She chose Shikha Pandey to bowl the 20th over instead of completing Jonassen’s full quota of four overs (she bowled only three). Pandey conceded 12 runs in the last over. In the 19th, Lanning showed great faith in youngster Shree Charani, who gave away 13 runs while taking a wicket.
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