WPL: Delhi Capitals edge past plucky RCB in last-over thriller
Royal Challengers Bangalore’s nightmare in the WPL 2023 continued as Smriti Mandhana’s team slumped to their fifth successive defeat in the tournament after a narrow loss against the Delhi Capitals. Marizanne Kapp and Jess Jonassen took their side home in a last-over thriller to solidify their place in the top end of the table.
Chasing a par total, the Delhi Capitals lost swashbuckling opener Shafali Verma for a first-ball duck against Aussie pacer Megan Schutt. Despite that early blow, the Capitals scored at a healthy rate during the field restrictions as Alice Capsey put the RCB bowlers to the sword with a brisk 38 off 24 deliveries.
Meg Lanning failed to capitalise on her start as RCB dismissed the Delhi skipper cheaply to claw their way back into the match. Marizanne Kapp and Jemimah Rodrigues ensured that their side never fell too far behind the rate despite the latter’s dismissal for a well-made 32.
Smriti Mandhana’s side were able to build some pressure with a couple of quiet overs, but the experience of Kapp and Jess Jonassen reigned supreme in the end as the duo managed to take their side home in a tense finale to register their fourth victory of the tournament.
Ellyse Perry and Richa Ghosh finish with a flurry to post a competitive total
It was the Delhi Capitals’ skipper who won the toss and decided to field first on a slightly two-paced surface at the DY Patil Stadium. The Royal Challengers Bangalore, who were searching for their first win of the tournament, did not have the best of starts in the game as skipper Smriti Mandhana failed with the bat for a fifth game in a row.
RCB looked to hit back with two of their leading run scorers Ellyse Perry and Sophie Devine in the middle, but the experienced Shikha Pandey knocked over Devine’s leg stump to land a killer blow. Heather Knight also fell to a familiar foe in Tara Norris as the Bangalore-based franchise sled further in the match.
Their innings was headed nowhere despite Ellyse Perry striking the ball beautifully from the other end. That is when she found an able partner in young dasher Richa Ghosh. The duo put on an explosive stand of 74 runs in just under six overs to provide much-needed momentum to the RCB innings. Ghosh, who had a quiet tournament up to that point, went berserk in the latter stages, smashing 37 runs in just 16 deliveries.
A valiant half-century from Perry propelled her side to a par total of 150 runs as the Delhi Capitals pulled things back nicely in the last couple of overs. Shikha Pandey was the star of the show with the ball, returning with impeccable bowling figures of 3/23 in her four overs.
