Near-empty stands and a less-energetic crowd made the beginning of the Delhi leg of the WPL 2024 look very dull. However, scintillating knocks from Jemimah Rodrigues and Meg Lanning followed by Jess Jonassen’s bowling brilliance breathed life into Delhi Capitals’ homecoming. The hosts thumped reigning champions Mumbai Indians by 29 runs to consolidate their position on the top of the table with 8 points and a Net Run Rate of +1.301.
Batting second in cold Delhi weather was a no-brainer after winning the toss. Harmanpreet Kaur, who was back in the team after sitting out in 2 consecutive games, made the right decision but was let down by the bowling unit which hardly reaped any success. A target of 192 is always challenging and the batters need to stay content to cut it down. But Mumbai lost the plot there.
Marizanne Kapp and Shikha Pandey quickly broke into the Mumbai top order and reduced them to 29/3 in the first three overs. Kapp cleaned up Yastika Bhatia with a good-length delivery in the very first over. The South African quick went on to pocket the prized wicket of Harmnapreet Kaur (6) only 10 balls after Pandey castled Nat Sciver-Brunt (5).
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Hayley Matthews looked to nullify Delhi’s early ambush, taking on both Kapp and Pandey with a couple of boundaries each against both of them. But the hosts were never short of artillery. Jess Jonassen came into the attack and took Matthews down with a short ball at the end of Powerplay.
Mumbai, crumbling down in the chase of 193, tried counting on Amelia Kerr who was fresh from a match-winning knock from the previous game against RCB. But the pressure had already taken over the MI camp and there was no coming back. Jemimah, who starred with the bat first innings, took a spectacular catch as young pacer Titas Sadhu successfully dismissed Kerr for a 20-ball 17.
The duo of Amanjot Kaur and Pooja Vastrakar tried keeping Mumbai in the hunt but the clock was ticking faster than their scoring rate. They did put a 48-run stand for the sixth wicket but Jonassen returned to clean up Kaur for 42 to dash MI’s hopes.
With 63 required off the last 18 balls, some late fireworks from Sajeevan Sajana (24* off 14) was a delight to watch but wasn’t enough to take MI through. Jonassen closed the game by cleaning up Humaira Kazi, handing a 29-run win to DC on homecoming.
Earlier, fifties by skipper Meg Lanning and Jemimah Rodrigues took Delhi Capitals to a massive total of 192/4. It was the second consecutive fifty (overall third) of the season for Lanning whereas Rodrigues rode to her first this year.
The in-form opening pair of Lanning and Shafali Verma had a blast coming home as they added 48 runs for the opening wicket in just 27 balls. Verma, after being dropped for 15 by Saika Ishaque off Shabnim Ismail’s bowling, looked to shift gears as it rained sixes and boundaries in the Powerplay. But the former South African pacer made a timely return to break the partnership. Verma had hammered back-to-back sixes before edging a back-of-a-length delivery to Yastika Bhatia while a jubilant Ismail gave a roaring send-off to the DC opener.
Lanning took control and steered Delhi firmly, joining hands with Alice Capsey. The latter looked in fine touch and backed her skipper very well during her 20-ball stay at the crease. But the partnership couldn’t proceed beyond 31 runs as the English batter dragged the ball onto her stumps while reverse sweeping a Matthews delivery.
Lanning found some support from Rodrigues as well before raising her bat for the third time in the tournament. The skipper reached her fifty with a boundary against Puja Vastrakar but shortly fell prey to the MI all-rounder for 53 off 38 deliveries.
With the top three batters back in the dug-out, the focus shifted on Rodrigues who has been under the pump since playing a 44-run knock against the same opposition in the lost season opener in Bengaluru. But Delhi had something special in store for her.
After starting cautiously on a relatively new track, Rodrigues ended up playing a cracker of a knock to stun the defending champions. From a position of nearly run-a-ball 13 to notching up her first fifty this season in 27 balls was the statement that the old Jemimah was back in her skin. Delhi garnered 43 runs in the final 18 deliveries with Rodrigues scoring 32 of them to return unbeaten on 69 off 33 balls. She smashed 8 boundaries and 3 sixes, helping DC pile up 192 runs in 20 overs.
For Mumbai, it was a tough outing for bowlers as they managed to pick up just 4 wickets. While Pooja Vastrakar (1/20) was the most economical, the likes of Ismail (1/46), Saika Ishaque (1/29) and Hayley Matthews (1/23) settled with a wicket each.
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