Delhi Capitals, led by skipper Meg Lanning, won the toss and elected to bat first in the 2024 Women’s Premier League (WPL) Final.
The star opening duo, Meg Lanning and Shafali got off to a fabulous start, building a formidable 64-run partnership before Sophie Molineux struck with a triple breakthrough in the same over for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
She dismissed Shafali Verma for 44 runs, Jemimah Rodrigues, and Alice Capsey, both for ducks in the eighth over, breaking the partnership and leaving Delhi Capitals at 64/3 by the end of the eighth over.
This over proved to be the turning point of the Delhi Capitals’ innings, as they collapsed thereafter. Shreyanka Patil dismissed skipper Meg Lanning for 23 runs in the fourteenth over, while Asha Sobhana struck twice, dismissing Marizanne Kapp and Jess Jonassen for 8 and 3 runs respectively in the same over.
Shreyanka Patil also dismissed Minu Mani for 5 runs, leaving Delhi Capitals struggling to score runs and build significant partnerships. Radha Yadav contributed 12 runs, including 2 boundaries, helping Delhi cross the 100-run mark before being run out by a direct hit from Sophie Molineux, leaving Delhi at 101/8.
Arundhati tried to add a few runs steadily and scored 10 runs before getting clean bowled by Shreyanka Patil, who also dismissed Taniya Bhatia for a duck in the next ball of her spell. This concluded Delhi Capitals’ innings at 113 runs, all out in 18.3 overs.
Delhi Capitals were 64 for no loss in the first 7 overs then massively collapsed for 49 runs against 10 wickets in the next 11.3 overs.
Shafali scored 44 runs off 27 balls, comprising two fours and three maximums, with a strike rate of 162.96, emerging as the top scorer for Delhi Capitals. Shreyanka Patil stood out with the ball for RCB, claiming four wickets for 12 runs in her spell of 3.3 overs, which propelled her to claim the purple cap with 13 wickets in hand. Sophie Molineux was exceptional with the ball and fielding, contributing with one run-out and dismissing 3 players in a single over. Asha Sobhana also claimed two wickets for 14 runs in 3 overs.