Skipper Ashleigh Gardner guided Gujarat Giants back to winning ways with her 5th Women’s Premier League (WPL) fifty, while it was also closer to a collective team performance from them in a potentially do or die situation.
It was time for one of the most anticipated clashes of the WPL 2025, with Delhi Capitals led by skipper Meg Lanning up against the Harmanpreet Kaur-led Mumbai Indians for a top-of-the-table clash. Both sides remained unchanged coming into this highly anticipated encounter.
Spin duo of Jess Jonassen and Minnu Mani leave Mumbai Indians clueless
The Mumbai Indians openers Hayley Matthews and wicket-keeper batter Yastika Bhatia came out with an attacking intent, with a quick 35-run opening partnership after the Capitals skipper Meg Lanning won the toss and inserted them to bat first. The Capitals bowlers pulled up their socks and removed both the openers, Hayley Matthews (22 off 25 balls) and wicket-keeper batter Yastika Bhatia (11 off 10 balls) in quick succession.
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur joined Nat Sciver-Brunt at the crease and the skipper continued to take the positive approach and attack the bowlers, with a bit of fortune in her favour. The pair went on to stitch another crucial 38-run partnership for the 3rd wicket, laying a solid platform for a strong finish.
However, it wasn’t to be as the Mumbai Indians kept losing wickets at regular intervals, after the departure of their skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (22 off 16 balls) in the 11th over of the innings. Jess Jonassen picked up the wicket of the opposition skipper, while also going on to get the massive breakthrough in the 14th over of the innings.
Mumbai Indians eventually ended up with a total of 123/9 in their quota of 20 overs. Nat Sciver-Brunt (18 off 22 balls), Amelia Kerr (18 off 17 balls), and Amanjot Kaur’s cameo (17* off 10 balls), pushed the total past the 120-run mark. Jess Jonassen (4-0-25-3) and Minnu Mani (3-0-17-3) picked up three wickets each and left the Mumbai batters clueless, while Shikha Pandey (4-1-16-1), and Annabel Sutherland (4-0-21-1) were sensational with the ball for the Delhi Capitals.
Shafali Verma and Meg Lanning made light work of the run chase
Chasing a small total of 124, the Capitals openers Shafali Verma and skipper Meg Lanning got their side off to a watchful start, before eventually switching gears towards the end of the powerplay. A lethal opening duo almost took the fizz out of the run chase with a massive 85-run opening partnership. Amanjot Kaur provided some respite by Shafali Verma (43 off 28 balls) back to the pavilion to provide the much-needed first breakthrough for Mumbai Indians in the 10th over of the run chase.
A dominant duo of Shafali-Meg extended their lead at the top of the list of most 50+ partnerships (11) in the WPL. Jemimah Rodrigues (15* off 10 balls) joined skipper Meg Lanning at the crease and the duo took their side over the line to seal an emphatic win by 9 wickets and 33 balls to spare. Skipper Meg Lanning notched up her 8th WPL half-century (60* off 49 balls) to not only guide her side over the line but also went on to top the list of the most number of half-centuries in the brief history of the Tata WPL.
Jess Jonassen was awarded the Player of the Match for her sensational spell of 4-0-25-3 with the ball for her side, setting the platform for a dominant show in partnership with Minnu Mani (3-0-17-3). The emphatic win sees them reclaim the top spot in the points table with eight points and the net run-rate entering in the positives. However, the Capitals have a short turn-around as they face the home side led by skipper Smriti Mandhana who are searching for a win in their home stretch.
A performance like this against the inaugural champions Mumbai Indians augurs well for the two-time runners-up as they await to get on the field again against the defending champions.
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