Start the home-leg with a 29-run victory over the Mumbai Indians by Delhi Capitals.
Delhi Capitals began their current Women’s Premier League (WPL) season home leg on a high note, doing what Royal Challengers Bangalore had done previously. Delhi defeated Mumbai by 29 runs in the inaugural WPL match played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium thanks to half-centuries from Jemimah Rodrigues and captain Meg Lanning, who ended Mumbai’s unbeaten chase record in the competition.
Jemimah put on a stunning performance of stroke-play, hitting an unbeaten 69 off 33 balls, while Meg hammered 53 off 38 balls to help Delhi reach an impressive 192/4 in 20 overs. In Delhi, where they scored their third 170+ score of the season, Jemimah was ferocious, hitting eight fours and three sixes at a strike rate of 209, particularly with her enthralling smashes over point and flawless use of the 46-metre square boundary.On a low bounce pitch, every Delhi bowler, with the exception of Arundhati Reddy, was among the wickets and took early scalps to put the reigning champions on their back foot. Mumbai eventually reached 163/8, falling short by 29 runs as Delhi retained the top spot in the points standings.Shafali got Delhi off to a flying start with a well-placed drive off Shabnim Ismail, followed by a lofted shot over mid-off against Saika Ishaque.
After Shabnim’s tickle-down leg for four, Shafali had an early life when Saika shelled a chance after sprinting to her left at mid-on. Meg Lanning joined the boundary-hitting celebration, smashing a straight-bat loft down the ground from Nat Sciver-Brunt for six and a four by tickling past a diving backward square leg. Shafali struck back-to-back sixes off Shabnim, lofting down the ground and cutting over mid-off.
Shafali attempted to pull and gained a slim advantage behind goalkeeper Yastika Bhatia, but Shabnim emerged victorious when she slanted a ball in the back of the length towards her. Alice stunned everyone by hitting a pulled four right away, helping Delhi gain 56/1 on their power play. Then, Alice and Meg destroyed Amelia Kerr, scoring 14 runs off the eighth over. Alice used her trademark square cut for a boundary, while Meg nailed her reverse-sweep and drove beyond cover for two fours.
Alice’s attempt to prevent the reverse sweep backfired as she played onto her stumps off Hayley Matthews. But Meg was unstoppable, taking two square cut fours and a lofted six from Amelia in the 12th over, scoring 20 runs. Meg scored her fifty in 36 balls by using Pooja Vastrakar’s pace to get between backward point and short third man. Her innings ended at 53 after she mistimed the pull, and Amelia rushed forward to make a sensational catch at deep square leg.
Jemimah took on Shabnim with fours over long-on and backward point, before Marizanne Kapp sent one over mid-off for another boundary. Jemimah’s outstanding performance continued as she went across to draw Pooja for four, and when the bowler pitched wide, she cut the drive over backward point for another boundary. Though Saika castled Marizanne, Jemimah swooped over fine leg and lofted a magnificent drive over backward point for fours in a row. She continued to play with the field, moving across the crease to slice over backward point for four at the start of Nat’s nineteenth over.
Jemimah then lofted over the bowler’s head and pulled over long leg to strike back-to-back sixes, the first of which gave her fifty in 27 balls. Jemimah hammered Hayley over long-on for six and swept past a diving short fine leg for four to finish undefeated on 69 from 33 balls.
