South Africa’s veteran all-rounder Marizanne Kapp has been key for the Delhi Capitals throughout the season, contributing significantly for the two-time WPL runners-up. Playing her third WPL final, with the Capitals, Kapp saved her best bowling performance for the biggest stage as her 2/11 from her 4 overs put the Mumbai Indians under immense pressure early on in the final.
After choosing to bowl, Kapp opened the bowling for the Capitals and not only was amongst the wickets, but extremely tight and economical, putting the Indians on the backfoot. A tight first over saw Kapp give away only 2 runs and it immediately put Harmanpreet Kaur’s girls on the backfoot.
Shikha Pandey complemented Kapp perfectly, maintaining tight lines and building pressure from the other end. Kapp, feeding off that pressure, produced a peach of a delivery in her second over to dismiss the dangerous and in-form Hayley Matthews with a perfect seaming delivery which jagged back in and went on to crash onto Matthews’ stumps putting the Mumbai team at 5/1 after 3 overs.
The ball, delivered on a back-of-a-length just outside off, initially held its line before gripping the surface and cutting in sharply. Matthews, expecting it to angle across, was caught off guard and reacted late, her inside edge only guiding the ball into the stumps.
Kapp let out a fierce roar, pumping her fists in delight, knowing she had removed one of Mumbai’s most destructive batters early. Matthews, who had played a match-winning knock in the Eliminator, looked stunned as she slowly walked back, managing just 3 off 10 balls.
Kapp immediately struck once again in the 5th over, as Yastika Bhatia who tried to free her arms by striking Kapp for a boundary saw Kapp reply instantly as a stunning catch by Jemimah Rodrigues sent Bhatia packing, leaving the 2023 champions reeling at 14/2.
It was yet another brilliant piece of bowling from Kapp, who delivered a short-of-a-length ball with just enough bounce to trouble the batter. Bhatia attempted to ride the bounce but ended up slicing it, and Rodrigues, stationed at point, reacted swiftly, lunging forward to take a sharp, low catch inches off the turf. The energy from the Delhi Capitals was electric, knowing the importance of that dismissal.
Seeing Kapp on a roll, Meg Lanning bowled out Kapp on a trot up front with Kapp’s stunning spell making sure Mumbai got only 20 runs in the powerplay, which is their second-lowest in the WPL history.
Kapp finished her four overs with 2 wickets while conceding just 11 runs and it included 16 dot balls as the big-game player stepped up exactly when the Capitals needed her. Kapp finished the WPL 2025 with 8 wickets at an average of 20.75. While she made a massive impact with the ball, she still can make more impact in the game for the Capitals with the bat as well.
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