WPL: Delhi Capitals fire past Mumbai Indians to go to the top of table
After winning five matches on the trot, Mumbai Indians have suddenly lost their mojo, losing two in a row. In the match against Delhi Capitals, their batters failed to step up as the Meg Lanning-led side restricted them to 109 runs after 20 overs.
Notably, Delhi bowlers were phenomenal on the night at Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai. South Africa international Marizanne Kapp led the bowling unit as she picked up two crucial wickets of Yastika Bhatia and Nat Sciver-Brunt. The all-rounder was also economical, proving to be a positive sign for Delhi ahead of the playoffs.
On the other hand, Shikha Pandey and Jess Jonassen picked up two wickets each, while Arundhati Reddy bagged one. Meanwhile, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side had no answer to Delhi’s carnage. The skipper (23), along with Pooja Vastrakar (26) and Issy Wong (23), tried to bring the situation under control, but none of them could manage to do so.
Coming to the second innings, flamboyant batter Shafali Verma gave Delhi a perfect start. The U-19 World Cup-winning skipper smashed 33 off 15 deliveries while her opening partner Meg Lanning played a mature innings, scoring 32* off 22 deliveries.
Meanwhile, after Shafali got dismissed by Hayley Matthews, youngster Alice Capsey came to bat and absolutely dominated the MI bowling attack. The 18-year-old smacked 38* runs off 17 deliveries and helped Delhi chase 110 runs in just nine overs. Notably, she mostly dealt in sixes, hitting five in total.
Now, with this massive win, Delhi moved to the top of the points table and has a brilliant chance to earn their direct qualification for the finals of the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League. For that, all Delhi will have to do is win their final league game against UP Warriorz by a comfortable margin.
For Mumbai, there’s still a chance to top the table as well. In order to do so, they have to play some extraordinary cricket against Royal Challengers Bangalore in their final league game and improve their Net Run Rate.
Updated WPL Points Table:
