Women’s Premier League off to cracking start

The Women’s Premier League in India has gotten off to a cracking start with no team able to take an early lead after the first week of thrilling cricketing action.

Every team has lost a game so far, while only one side has yet to win, making for a congested early log in the competition.

The Delhi Capitals currently top the log on four points, thanks to a superb net run rate, while the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians sit second and third respectively on the same amount of points.

The UP Warriorz are fourth on the log on two points, while the Gujarat Giants are bottom having lost both of their games so far.

For the Capitals Proteas, allrounder Marizanne Kapp has been their star player so far, earning player of the match awards in their big wins over the Warriorz and Royal Challengers.

In the Warriorz game, Kapp picked up an incredible 3-5 in her four overs to, along with Radha Yadav's 4-20, to restrict the Warriorz to 119 for nine, which the Capitals easily chased down for a nine-wicket win thanks to Shafali Verma (64no) and Meg Lanning (51).

In the Royal Challengers match Kapp struck a quickfire 32 off 16 balls as the Capitals scored 194 for five, with Verma (50), Alice Capsey (46) and Jess Jonassen (36no) also contributing.

Kapp then picked up 2-35 with the ball, including the vitally important wicket of Smriti Mandhana (74), while Jonassen claimed 3-21, to help their side clinch a 25-run win.

In the Capitals' only loss, a last-ball thriller against the Mumbai Indians, Capsey was the unlucky star as she hit 75, along with Jemimah Rodrigues (42) and Lanning (31) to help their side score 171 for five.

She then picked up 2-23 with the ball, but after Yastika Bhatia (57) and captain Harmanpreet Kaur (55) had got their side in range, Capsey bowled the last over and, needing to defend five off the last ball, watched as Sajeevan Sajana hammered a six to win the game for her team.

Having won their opener the Mumbai Indians then made it two in two when they comfortably beat the Gujarat Giants by five wickets, after restricting them to 126 for nine thanks to Amelia Kerr, 4-17, and former Proteas speed merchant Shabnim Ismail, 3-18.

Kaur (46), Kerr (31) and Nat Sciver-Brunt (22) were then the key contributors with the bat as they cruised home with 11 balls to spare.

Mumbai Indians were then stunned in their third game by the Warriorz, as they scored 161 for six with Hayley Matthews (55), Bhatia (26) and Kerr (23) the top scorers.

However the Warriorz hit back for their only win so far as Kiran Navgire (57), Grace Harris (38no), Alyssa Healy (33) and Deepti Sharma (27no) helped them power to a seven-wicket win inside 17 overs.

The Royal Challengers' first win came against the Warriorz, as they scored 157 for six thanks to Richa Ghosh (62) and Sabbhineni Meghana (53), before Asha Sobhana picked up a stunning 5-22 with the ball to help limit the chasers to 155 for seven for a thrilling two-run win.

The Royal Challengers then thrashed the Gujarat Giants by eight wickets after restricting them to 107 for seven batting first thanks to Sophie Molineux, 3-25, and Renuka Singh, 2-14, before they chased down the score in just 12.3 overs with Mandhana (43), Meghana (36no) and Ellyse Perry (23no) top scoring.