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It was a clash between the two best teams in the competition, who had also met in the first match of the season, to mark the start of the Women’s Premier League match in Delhi on Tuesday. Mumbai Indians had pulled off a last-gasp victory in Bengaluru, but this time, Delhi Capitals left nothing to chance at home and cruised to a 29-run victory to move away at the top of the points table.
When asked to bat first, DC posted a total of 192/4 thanks to captain Meg Lanning’s 53 off 38 balls and Jemimah Rodrigues’ unbeaten 69 off just 33 balls. In response, the defending champions were always struggling and could only manage 163/8.
Delhi got off to a fast start thanks to an impressive cameo from Shafali Verma. The 20-year-old, who got a reprieve when Saika Ishaque dropped a simple catch, hit a 12-ball 28 before edging one from Shabnim Ismail.
Then it came down to Lanning and Jemimah’s exploits in boosting DC’s entries. The former Australia captain continued her excellent form and continued to find boundaries to register her third half-century of the season. The 31-year-old may have retired from international cricket, but she proved once again that her shooting prowess remains world-class.
Alice Capsey and Marizanne Kapp were unable to move forward and it was thanks to Jemimah’s all-round striking game that DC finished with an imposing total. The 23-year-old took her time to adjust and scored 13 off 14 balls, but she changed her style to help her team score 69 runs in the last five overs. What stood out in her hitting was the ease with which she achieved pace and spin to set boundaries on both sides of the field.
Mumbai’s chase never really took off as they lost four wickets within the powerplay. Yastika Bhatia and Natalie Sciver-Brunt were cleaned up by Kapp and Shikha Pandey respectively, before captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who had missed the last two games, closed her bat face too quickly and got a back lead.
Once opener Hayley Matthews perished for a 17-ball 29, only Amanjot Kaur (42 off 27) and S Sajana (24* off 14) put up any fight in the order. Australian left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen, with figures of 3/21, was the pick of the Mumbai bowlers.
Delhi, with four wins in five games, is in a promising position to advance from the league stage. They already have the same amount of points that allowed UP Warriorz to earn a place in the playoff game last season.