Mumbai: Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals by seven wickets in the final to lift the inaugural Women's Premier League trophy here on Sunday. MI first restricted DC to 131 for 9 and then returned to overhaul the target with three balls to spare. Nat Sciver-Brunt smashed an unbeaten 55-ball 60, while skipper Harmanpreet Kaur made a 39-ball 37 as MI reached 134 for 3 in 19.3 overs.
Earlier, skipper Meg Lanning (35 off 29 balls) was the top-scorer for DC after she won the toss and elected to bat at the Brabourne stadium here. Shafali Verma (11) and Marizanne Kapp (18) also reached double figures but couldn't capitalise on as DC were looking down the barrel at 79 for 9 in 16 overs.
Shikha Pandey (27 not out) and Radha Yadav (27 not out) then added 52 runs off just 24 balls to take DC to a competitive score. Hayley Matthews returned with incredible figures of 4-2-5-3, while Issy Wong (3/42) continued her sensational run, claiming three more wickets and Melie Kerr (2/18) was the other wicket taker for MI.
Brief Score:
Delhi Capitals: 131 for 9 in 20 overs (Meg Lanning 35; Hayley Matthews 3/5, Issy Wong 3/42).
Mumbai Indians: 134 for 3 in 19.3 overs (Nat Sciver-Brunt 60 not out, Harmanpreet kaur 37; Radha Yadav 1/24).
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Mumbai: Shikha Pandey and Radha Yadav shared a 52-run partnership for the 10th wicket to lift Delhi Capitals to a competitive 131 for nine against Mumbai Indians in the finals of the Women's Premier League here on Sunday. Delhi Capitals were off to a rocky start, collapsing from 74 for 3 in the 11th over to 79 for 9 after 16, thanks to devastating show from overseas bowlers Hayley Matthews (4-2-5-3), Isabelle Wong (4-0-42-3) and Amelia Kerr (4-0-18-2).
However, the 52-run stand between Shikha (27 not out from 17 balls) and Radha Yadav (27 not out from 12 balls) took them across the 100-mark and gave them a fighting chance. Shikha hit three fours and one six in her knock, Radha smashed two boundaries and as many maximums.
Earlier, Matthews, Wong and Kerr had shared a total eight wickets between them to put Mumbai in a strong position. While the Caribbean all-rounder Matthews took her wickets tally to 16 highest in the tournament alongside UP Warriorz' Sophie Ecclestone Wong and Kerr also finished at 15 wickets each.
Saika Ishaque failed to get any breakthrough and ended up with an impressive 15 wickets too. In front of a partisan crowd that filled up the Brabourne Stadium to the brim, the final was off to a dramatic start with MI claiming the first three wickets off full-tosses from Wong.
The first two decisions were ruled against the batters by the third umpire. Shafali Verma (11 off 4 balls, 1x4s, 1x6s) began with a six over long-on and a four on the next ball in the second over from Wong, sliced over backward point to beat the third man. However, the Delhi dasher was caught at point by Kerr off a full toss from the English bowler which was waist high.
Wong dealt another blow to the Delhi Capitals, again off a surprise full toss with Alice Capsey (0) failing to control her shot. The catch was completed by a stunning diving effort from Amanjot Kaur at extra cover, and left Delhi reeling at 12 for 2 in 1.5 overs. Jemimah Rodrigues (9 off 8 balls, 2x4s) began with a superb cover drive off the first delivery she faced off Wong and brought out another drive against Sciver-Brunt in the third over. But before that, Lanning smacked two fours on the first two balls to shrug off some pressure.
But Delhi sunk further when a low full toss swinging away from the off stump from Wong, who changed the bowling ends, had Jemimah playing it straight to Hayley Matthews at point. DC, who were 38 for 3 at the end of the powerplay, were steadied by Lanning and Kapp. At the halfway mark the Capitals were relatively safe at 68 for 3, but the worst was yet to come.
From 74 for 3 in the 11th over, Delhi Capitals collapsed to 77 for 7 after 14 overs with some poor batting and communication in the middle. Kapp (18 off 21 balls, 2x4s), who hit her first four on the 17th ball she faced, was removed by Kerr in the 11th over with Yastika Bhatia grabbing the catch.
The South African all-rounder added 38 runs for the fourth wicket in 37 balls. Mumbai Indians, however, made the biggest breakthrough in the 12th over when Delhi's captain and mainstay Lanning was run-out for 35. Lanning's hesitation to run after Jess Jonassen (2) hurdled a delivery off towards Amanjot at cover cost her dearly, with Bhatia breaking the stumps.
Kerr claimed her second wicket by getting rid of Arundhati Reddy (0), and after Matthews spilled a return catch off Jonassen's bat in the 14th over, she grabbed a similar chance. Matthews returned to cap off her best spell in the WPL, getting Minnu Mani (2) stumped to take her 15th wicket in the competition, and added one more when she got one to sneak between Taniya Bhatia's (0) bat and pads for her third wicket in the game to leave DC tottering at 79/9. (PTI)
Scoreboard: WPL Final; DC vs MI
Delhi Capitals Women Innings:
Meg Lanning run out (Amanjot Kaur/Yastika Bhatia) 35
Shafali Verma c Melie Kerr b Wong 11
Alice Capsey c Amanjot Kaur b Wong 0
Jemimah Rodrigues c Hayley Matthews b Wong 9
Marizanne Kapp c Yastika Bhatia b Melie Kerr 18
Jess Jonassen c and b Hayley Matthews 2
Arundhati Reddy c Saika Ishaque b Melie Kerr 0
Shikha Pandey not out 27
Yastika Bhatia b Hayley Matthews 1
Taniya Bhatia b Hayley Matthews 0
Radha Yadav not out 27
Extras: (LB-1) 1
Total: (For 9 wkts, 20 Overs) 131
Fall of Wickets: 12-1, 12-2, 35-3, 73-4, 74-5, 75-6, 75-7, 79-8, 79-9.
Bowler: Nat Sciver-Brunt 4-0-37-0, Issy Wong 4-0-42-3, Saika Ishaque 4-0-28-0, Melie Kerr 4-0-18-2, Hayley Matthews 4-2-5-3.
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Mumbai: Delhi Capitals (DC) women on Sunday won the toss and elected to bat against Mumbai Indians (MI) at Brabourne Stadium here. While Mumbai Indians are going with the same team, Minnu Mani has replaced Poonam Yadav in the Delhi Capitals playing XI.
DC had qualified directly for the final after topping the league stage points table, while MI made it to the summit clash after beating UP Warriorz in the eliminator on Friday. It's now the WPL trophy that's up for grab.
Here's the captains had to say:
Harmanpreet Kaur: We were looking to bowl first, so the toss is not going to affect us. I think the wicket will swing, it looks hard. We need to stay positive, the last game was important and we got a lot of confidence after that. They have a good batting line-up, we need to bowl well tonight. We are going with the same XI.
Meg Lanning: We are going to bat. It looks a good wicket, we are backing ourselves tonight. We had a good time, relaxed for a few days. We are up against Mumbai tonight. Spin has played a big role here. The bowlers have been effective througout the tournament. Minnu Mani comes in for Poonam Yadav.
Teams:
Delhi Capitals Women (Playing XI): Meg Lanning(c), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Marizanne Kapp, Alice Capsey, Jess Jonassen, Arundhati Reddy, Taniya Bhatia(w), Minnu Mani, Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey
Mumbai Indians Women (Playing XI): Yastika Bhatia(w), Hayley Matthews, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Melie Kerr, Pooja Vastrakar, Issy Wong, Amanjot Kaur, Humaira Kazi, Jintimani Kalita, Saika Ishaque
