Marizanne Kapp and Jess Jonassen’s all-around show overshadows Smriti Mandhana’s heroics as Delhi Capitals climbs to the top of the points table.
Royal Challengers Bangalore led by skipper Smriti Mandhana clinched a comprehensive 8-wicket victory over Gujarat Giants in their last encounter. The Delhi Capitals led by skipper Meg Lanning, much like their opponents for the day, clinched a thumping 9-wicket victory over UP Warriorz in their previous encounter.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Smriti Mandhana won the toss and opted to field first. The home side had a forced change as Ellyse Perry missed out due to illness. The 24-year-old young sensation from South Africa Nadine de Klerk replaced her in the playing 11 for RCB. As far as the Delhi Capitals are concerned, the left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen replaced Annabel Sutherland in the playing 11.
After being inserted to bat first, Delhi Capitals got off to a steady start, scoring just under 6 runs an over before Sophie Devine picked up the big wicket of the opposition skipper Meg Lanning to provide the first breakthrough for RCB. Alice Capsey joined Shafali Verma at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 82-run partnership for the 2nd wicket before Shreyanka Patil picked up the wicket of Shafali Verma to provide the much-needed breakthrough for her side.
The Delhi Capitals lost a couple of wickets in quick succession and found themselves at 124/4 in 15 overs. Jess Jonassen joined Marizanne Kapp at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 48-run partnership for the 5th wicket before Sophie Devine came back and picked up the big wicket Marizanne Kapp to provide the 5th breakthrough for RCB. The Delhi Capitals eventually ended up with a massive total of 194/5 in their quota of overs.
Shafali Verma (50 off 31 balls), Alice Capsey (46 off 33 balls), Jess Jonassen (36 off 16 balls), and Marizanne Kapp (32 off 16 balls) were the top performers with the bat for the Delhi Capitals. Sophie Devine (2/23), and Nadine de Klerk (2/35) were the top performers with the ball for RCB. Chasing a target of 195, Royal Challengers Bangalore got off to a solid start, scoring over 9 runs an over before Arundhati Reddy picked up the wicket of Sophie Devine to provide the 1st breakthrough for Delhi Capitals.
Sabbhineni Meghana joined Smriti Mandhana at the crease and the duo stitched a 35-run partnership for the 2nd wicket before Marizanne Kapp picked up the much-needed wicket of the opposition skipper Smriti Mandhana to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side. Wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh joined Sabbhineni Meghana at the crease and the duo stitched a 26-run partnership for the 3rd wicket before Marizanne Kapp came back and picked up the crucial wicket of Richa Ghosh to provide the 3rd breakthrough for the Delhi Capitals.
Royal Challengers Bangalore suffered a massive collapse as they lost their next 6 wickets for just 31 runs. As a result of the collapse, they fell 25 runs short of the target as they were eventually restricted to 169/9 in their quota of overs. Smriti Mandhana (74 off 43 balls), Richa Ghosh (19 off 13 balls), Sophie Devine (23 off 17 balls), and Sabbhineni Meghana (36 off 31 balls) were the top performers with the bat for RCB. Jess Jonassen (4-0-21-3), Marizanne Kapp (4-0-35-2), and Arundhati Reddy (4-0-38-2) were the top performers with the ball for Delhi Capitals.
Marizanne Kapp was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant all-round performance, scoring (32 off 16 balls) with the bat and returning with match figures (4-0-35-2) with the ball. She played a crucial role in helping the Delhi Capitals get on top of the points table.