Delhi Capitals thrashed Mumbai Indians by nine wickets as they chased 110 in just nine overs on Monday evening to go top of the WPL league stage.
Mumbai struggled with the bat as tight bowling and fielding from Arundhati Reddy and Shikha Pandey prevented any MI batter from reaching more than Pooja Vastrakar’s 29.
Alice Capsey struck 38* from 17 balls, included five sixes in partnership with her captain Meg Lanning as they sealed the victory for her side.
.@kappie777 continued her fine form with the ball and bagged the Player of the Match award in @DelhiCapitals' comprehensive win against #MI ????????
— Women's Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) March 20, 2023
Scorecard ?? https://t.co/Gcv5Cq5nOi#TATAWPL | #MIvDC pic.twitter.com/8frdoQlDMW
Lanning’s 32* wrestled the orange cap back from the head of Sophie Devine after her extraordinary 99 from 36 balls on Sunday.
Earlier, Mumbai started their innings cautiously as Marizanne Kapp and Alice Capsey kept the run rate down early on.
The game sparked into life as Yastika Bhatia, who struggled with Kapp’s inswing in the first over, was caught behind edging a drive that held its line across the left-hander.
The very next ball, Nat Sciver-Brunt was bowled for a golden duck as Kapp showed her full range of skills. MI captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, was solidly behind the hat-trick ball.
The misery continued for Mumbai as Jemima Rodrigues took an outstanding catch at mid-on to remove Hayley Matthews.
Rodrigues had to scamper quickly to her right and put in a full-length dive to grasp the ball, one-handed, to take one of the catches of the tournament.
The Capitals’ fielding more than backed up their superb bowling with Radha Yadav and Rodrigues particularly stand out.
At the halfway stage, MI had just 46 on the board for the loss of four wickets, but the presence of captain Kaur and Pooja Vastrakar gave their team hope of a comeback.
SPECTACULAR CASEY
The pair targeted Poonam Yadav’s sedate leg-spin, taking 18 from her first over to get their partnership off and running in style.
For Mumbai, though, it was a false dawn.
The returning Jonassen built some pressure and Vastrakar cracked, hitting her fourth ball down the throat of Radha Yadav at long-on.
While modest looking on the scorecard, Vastrakar’s 26 from 19 balls injected much-needed energy into the MI innings at a critical time in the game.
Issy Wong was Kaur’s next partner but was not able to provide the necessary urgency that was needed at the back end of the innings before departing for a run-a-ball 23 in the final over.
Rodrigues was back in action, in the out-field this time, catching Kaur’s scud-missile pull shot off the bowling of Shikha Pandey to remove India’s captain for a battling 23 (26).
In reply, Shafali Verma and Meg Lanning started in trademark style, hitting Sciver-Brunt and Wong for 22 from the first couple of overs.
As Delhi took control, Mumbai’s discipline left them. Miss fields from Jintimani Kalita and Wong gave DC easy runs that they did not need in such a low chase.
Verma looked imperious but without full control. Matthews saw her first ball clobbered over long-on for six before the Indian batter ran past her next ball, well stumped by Yastika Bhatia.
Lanning and Capsey continued the carnage as DC reached the end of the powerplay on 67-1.
Capsey’s ball striking was spectacular. The 18-year-old smashed Matthews for 22 off an over that included three enormous sixes off the bat of the England batter.
For an electric batting performance which included five sixes, @AliceCapsey is our ??performer from the second innings of the #MIvDC contest in the #TATAWPL ??
— Women's Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) March 20, 2023
A look at her batting summary ?? pic.twitter.com/76WuEv9nRl
MUMBAI INDIANS: Hayley Matthews, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Amelia Kerr, Issy Wong, Pooja Vastrakar, Amanjot Kaur, Humaira Kazi, Jintimani Kalita, Saika Ishaque.
DELHI CAPITALS: Shafali Verma, Meg Lanning (c), Alice Capsey, Jemimah Rodrigues, Marizanne Kapp, Jess Jonassen, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Poonam Yadav.