In the end, it was all about the frames. On a dramatic night in the Women’s Premier League, Delhi Capitals beat Mumbai Indians in a thriller that was decided by the smallest of margins, with the TV umpire’s decisions on run-out appeals causing plenty of drama in the closing stages. DC won by 2 wickets off the last ball of the match in Vadodara.
Chasing 165, DC were off to a blazing start thanks to Shafali Verma but MI fought back impressively to have the upper hand in the middle stages. DC’s debutants Niki Prasad and Sarah Bryce played crucial cameos before the lower order held on to win. With 2 runs needed off 1 ball, Arundhati Reddy scampered back for the second run and was deemed to have crossed the line just in time.
Earlier, opting to bowl, DC put up a strong showing with the ball despite MI’s two star batters – Nat Sciver-Brunt and Harmanpreet Kaur – playing impressive knocks. Shikha Pandey was especially effective with figures of 2/14 as MI were bundled out 164 in 19.1 overs. Harmanpreet rued that they failed to bat out the quota of 20 overs, which proved costly with Sciver-Brunt left stranded on 80.
Shafali, as she tends to do in the WPL, got off to a sensational start but fell for 43 off 18. Niki, India’s U19 World Cup-winning captain, then shone on debut with a patient 35, and was named player of the match. MI, however, would feel aggrieved at three run-out decisions that went against them, with confusion over the umpire’s interpretation of when the LED wickets were broken fairly. The one really costly moment was a decision that went in favor of Radha Yadav, who then smashed a big six next ball to bring the equation down to 10 off the last over.
Earlier, Shafali had accumulated 22 runs in the second over off Saika Ishaque, including four fours and a six, before taking Hayley Matthews to the cleaners with two fours and a six. However, she holed out in the fifth ball. Given a fourth over, Shabnim Ismail cleaned up Meg Lanning, as DC suddenly slipped to 60 for 2. Jemimah Rodrigues (2) and Annabel Sutherland (13) soon followed back to the pavilion, as DC slumped to 76/4 in the ninth over.
For MI, Amelia Kerr (2/21), Hayley Matthews (2/32), Sciver-Brunt (1/38), and Shabnim Ismail (1/18) were the wicket-takers.
Earlier, Sciver-Brunt and Harmanpreet shared a crucial 73-run partnership off 40 balls for the third wicket, laying a solid foundation. However, DC’s bowlers struck back, taking the final six wickets for 35 runs to dismiss MI in 19.1 overs.
Pandey was the most successful bowler for DC, while Minnu Mani (1/23) was economical. The rest of the bowlers were expensive, but they chipped in with key wickets.
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Pandey gave DC an early breakthrough, dismissing both openers — Hayley Matthews (0) and Yastika Bhatia (11) as Mumbai reached 42/2 at the end of the powerplay, thanks to a 19-run over from Alice Capsey (1/25).
Sciver-Brunt and Harmanpreet took charge, striking 18 runs off Radha Yadav’s eighth over, which included three fours and a six. MI were 87/2 at the halfway mark.
Harmanpreet continued to attack, taking Annabel Sutherland (2/34) for three fours and a six before falling to her in the 14th over.
Sciver-Brunt was left to carry the innings but ran out of partners as MI crumbled.
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Brief Scores: Mumbai Indians: 164 all out in 19.1 overs (Sciver-Brunt 80*; Harmanpreet 42, Pandey 2/14) lost to Delhi Capitals 165/8 (Shafali 43, Niki 35, Kerr 2/21) by 2 wickets
With PTI inputs