Jemimah Rodrigues, Meg Lanning, and Jess Jonassen steal the show as Delhi Capitals claim the top spot to kickstart their home leg with a win over Mumbai Indians.
The last match between RCB and UP Warriorz at the Chinnaswamy Stadium was a blockbuster. We now move on to the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi for the 2nd half of the Women’s Premier League. The eliminator and the finals will also be played in Delhi. The home side Delhi Capitals led by skipper Meg Lanning is up against the defending champions Mumbai Indians, in a repeat of the WPL 2024 tournament opener and the final of the inaugural edition of the WPL.
The head-to-head record between both these sides (3-1) is heavily tilted in favour of Mumbai Indians. The last time these two sides were up against each other, it was a last-ball heist when Sajeevan Sajana smashed the last ball of the run chase over the ropes to seal the game for Mumbai Indians.
The Mumbai Indians skipper Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and opted to field first. Regular skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Shabnim Ismail returned to the playing 11 for Mumbai Indians. Marizanne Kapp replaced Annabel Sutherland in the line-up for Delhi Capitals. After being inserted to bat first, Delhi Capitals got off to a flying start, scoring over 10 runs an over before Shabnim Ismail eventually managed to dismiss Shafali Verma to provide the first breakthrough for Mumbai Indians. She was dropped earlier by Saika Ishaque off the bowling of Shabnim Ismail.
Alice Capsey joined skipper Meg Lanning at the crease and the duo stitched a 31-run partnership for the 2nd wicket before Hayley Matthews cleaned up Alice Capsey to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side. Jemimah Rodrigues joined skipper Meg Lanning at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 35-run partnership for the 3rd wicket before Pooja Vastrakar provided the massive breakthrough as she picked up the wicket of the opposition skipper Meg Lanning.
Marizanne Kapp joined Jemimah Rodrigues at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 37-run partnership for the 4th wicket before Saika Ishaque cleaned up Marizanne Kapp to provide the 4th breakthrough for her side. Delhi Capitals eventually ended up with a total of 192/4 in their quota of overs, courtesy of a late blitz from Jemimah Rodrigues as she stayed unbeaten on 69, scoring at a humongous strike rate of 209.09. Skipper Meg Lanning (53 off 38 balls), and Shafali Verma (28 off 12 balls) were the top performers with the bat alongside Jemimah Rodrigues.
Pooja Vastrakar (4-0-20-1), and Saika Ishaque (4-0-29-1) were the top performers with the ball for Mumbai Indians. Chasing a massive target of 193, Mumbai Indians got off to a horrible start, losing wicket-keeper batter Yastika Bhatia, Nat Sciver-Brunt, and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, in the first three overs of the run chase, sending the defending champions on the backfoot.
Amelia Kerr joined opening batter Hayley Matthews at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 25-run partnership for the 4th wicket before left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen picked up the wicket of Hayley Matthews to provide the 4th breakthrough for Delhi Capitals inside the powerplay. Amelia Kerr soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 5th breakthrough for Delhi Capitals.
Amanjot Kaur joined Pooja Vastrakar at the crease and the duo led some sort of a recovery with a 48-run partnership for the 6th wicket before Jess Jonassen came back and cleaned up Amanjot Kaur to provide the much-needed breakthrough for Delhi Capitals. Sajeevan Sajana joined Pooja Vastrakar at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 21-run partnership for the 7th wicket before Radha Yadav picked up the wicket of Pooja Vastraka to provide the much-needed breakthrough for her side.
Mumbai Indians were eventually restricted to 163/8 in their quota of overs. Amanjot Kaur (42 off 27 balls), Hayley Matthews (29 off 17 balls), and Sajeevan Sajana (24 off 14 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Mumbai Indians. Jess Jonassen (4-0-21-3), and Marizanne Kapp (4-0-37-2) were the top performers with the ball for Delhi Capitals.
Jemimah Rodrigues was awarded the Player of the Match for her outstanding performance (69 off 33 balls) with the bat, playing a crucial role in helping the Delhi Capitals claim the top spot in the points table and kickstart their home leg on a high note with a 29-run victory over Mumbai Indians.