In a match that was supposed to decide who would top the table at the end of the Bengaluru leg of the tournament, it was once again the chasing team that emerged victorious at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Delhi Capitals delivered an all-round performance, comprehensively defeating Mumbai Indians by nine wickets and 33 balls to spare.
With the ball coming onto the bat a bit better in the second innings, DC openers took the game to MI bowlers, scoring 57 runs in the powerplay without losing a wicket. Despite not having the best Women’s Premier League season together, Shafali Verma and Meg Lanning ensured a turnaround in fortunes by stitching an 85-run partnership. Their 11th fifty-run plus stand in WPL helped DC take the game away from MI before they could even react.
Before Jemimah Rodrigues joined Lanning to help DC cruise to the total, Verma scored 43 off 28, showcasing her swashbuckling strokeplay, which included two massive sixes down the ground against Amelia Kerr. Lanning, however, was DC’s top scorer, bringing up her eighth WPL fifty off 40 balls. She scored an unbeaten 60 runs off 49 balls.
MI, after finally getting a reasonably solid start from their openers — scoring 35 in the first five overs without losing a wicket — collapsed to finish at 123/9 after their quota of 20 overs. After the promising start, DC roared back as their bowlers started to fully exploit the conditions, putting a stranglehold on MI’s strong batting line–up.
With the grass shaved off, the dry pitch became increasingly slow, making it harder for MI batters to gain any momentum. From there, it was a downward spiral, as Mumbai kept losing wickets and never got the finish needed to post a competitive total.
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur was once again faced with the challenge of tackling Jess Jonassen on a pitch favoring spinners — and once again, she faltered. Just as she looked to accelerate and revive MI’s innings, she misjudged an arm-ball from the Australian, which struck in line with the stumps and caught her plumb leg-before. This marked the sixth time Jonassen has dismissed Harmanpreet in 23 T20 innings, with the MI captain averaging only 20 against her.
Even the in-form Nat Sciver-Brunt didn’t last long, chipping a flighted delivery — again from Jonassen —back to the bowler a couple of overs later. This was Sciver-Brunt’s lowest score in this season’s WPL, managing just 18 off 22 balls.
Both Minnu Mani and Jonassen took three wickets, removing Kaur, Sciver-Brunt, and Kerr cheaply before they could make any significant contributions. However, the pressure on the opposition wasn’t just from the bowlers —it was equally enforced by the fielders with their sharp and astute fielding.
Brief scores: MI 123-9 in 20 ovs (Harmanpreet Kaur 22, Hayley Mathews 22; Minnu Mani 3-17, Jess Jonassen 3-25) lost to DC 124/1in 14.3 ovs ( Meg Lanning 60*, Shafali Verma 43; Amanjot Kaur 1-12).
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