Delhi Capitals get their campaign back on track by trouncing arch-rivals Mumbai Indians. Will this be the night that we will cite as the 'turning point' in a couple of weeks? Time will tell.
For now, this result has caused a lock-jam on the points table. While RCB sit pretty at the top, the rest of the four teams have four points each. Among them, MI are the only side with a positive net run rate, but have played an extra game too. All in all, every match going forward is vital.
We hope you enjoyed the coverage tonight. The commentators were Darpan Tikiya and Dev Rajawat. The scorer was Paras Yadav. Do join us tomorrow at 6:30 PM IST as we build to Gujarat Giants vs UP Warriorz. Goodbye for now!
Jemimah Rodrigues (POTM): "Today was a very important game for us. I want to share this award with Kappy (Marizanne Kapp). I even asked if I could do that. The way she bowled in the powerplay, that got us into the game. It was one of the best spells she ever bowled. She is a legend of the game, but she still wants to become better.
Even when she came in, I thought what set our partnership was the running between the wickets. I think I have had a few conversations with the few people I trust. They have all told me to take some time initially. I have played a lot on pitches like this. So it is about getting through the first 10 balls. So I know if I do that, batting becomes easy.
We knew that anything under 160 was a fighting score. But we would need partnerships. I learnt a little bit from Nat (Sciver-Brunt) and Harman(preet Kaur) too, from the way they played (tonight).
Player of the Match: Jemimah Rodrigues.
Dot Balls of the Match: Marizanne Kapp
Sixes Award: Nat Sciver-Brunt
Match IQ Award: Shafali Verma
Active catch of the match: Lizelle Lee
Lizelle Lee: "It is not one of the easiest wickets to play on but I feel we got away with the new ball at the start. Credits to our bowlers for stopping them on that score.
(On her dismissal) It was a great take from her (Firdous) down the leg side, not easy and that is where I would want to stop, I'm not going there (on the decision).
(On batting with Shafali) We are communicating really well at what we want to do, we have very good plans, very basic plans. Tonight was one of those nights where it clicked. We batted really well together, just good from Jemimah to get a good score and then Kappy (Kapp) finishing it off. There is a lot of stress that goes with being a captain and if everybody can just do pull their weight, it helps a big deal.
(On chances for the playoffs) We just have to make sure we play every game to the best of abilities going forward, cricket is cricket we don't know what is going to happen. I feel if we do our best, you never know."
Harmanpreet Kaur (Mumbai Indians Captain): âYeah, I think we were about 20 runs short with the bat. Even in the Powerplay, we werenât able to execute properly - both with bat and ball, and thatâs been a concern for us throughout this tournament. We really need to push ourselves more in that phase of the game.
The Powerplay has been tricky for us, especially because weâve had to keep changing our opening combinations due to injuries. At the start of the tournament, a few players werenât available, and now Kamaliniâs injury has forced another change. That has affected our stability at the top, but itâs not an excuse - whoever goes out to open has to take responsibility and bat positively for the team.
On debut, Vaishnavi was really impressive, especially after a difficult Powerplay for our bowlers. When she came in and got Shafaliâs wicket, that was a big turning point. She showed great control and skill, and as a bowling unit, we need to learn from the areas she bowled today.
Rahila was also very good behind the stumps. She kept really well and showed a lot of composure, which was encouraging to see. Look, weâve won this tournament twice, and most of our core group is still here, so itâs not panic stations.
Weâve played good cricket in the last three seasons, and weâre still working really hard this year. Injuries have made things tougher, but the next two games are very important, and weâll go in with a positive mindset and 100 percent effort.â
10:58 PM IST, local time: What does it take to get a flailing campaign back on track? Purposefulness? Hunger? A leader to show the way? Delhi Capitals put all of that on display as they trounced their arch-rivals by 7 wickets tonight. Will we look back at this night as the turning point of the tournament? Only time will tell. But rest assured, the team has given its fans ample reasons to believe and reignited the flames of hope.
It started with Marizanne Kapp's frugal spell at the top and finished with a big six off her bat. On a wicket that, in her own words, was "not a nice one to bowl on", she bowled 16 dot balls and did not leak a single boundary in her four overs.
Though, Mumbai Indians did recover well after the slow start thanks to commanding knocksfrom (who else?) Nat Sciver-Brunt and Harmanpreet Kaur. While the latter ended up becoming one of Sree Charani's three preys, the former went on to notch-up her 11th WPL half-century and remained not out. Sciver-Brunt now has the joint most 50+ scores in the league, along side Meg Lanning.
Despite that, Delhi Capitals would have been the happier of the two sides at the halfway mark given that they had an underwhelming 156 to chase. A sprightly start from the ever effervescent pair of Shafali Verma and Lizelle Lee further put them in a solid position.
However, the winds did start to change direction in the middle. All the bad omens were there. Shafali failed to convert her start into something big. Lee got the rough end of a tough umpiring decision and Wolvaardt had a freak dismissal. The fans of DC, who have witnessed many bottle-jobs in the past, must have started to think bad thoughts. However, captain Rodrigues shepherd them to the finish line tonight.
Perhaps, Amanjot hurling the ball at her unnecessarily sparked a fire inside her. Perhaps, she was so focused and determined that that did not even matter to her. What she put on display was not brute force, but clever placement and bustling energy in running between the wickets â the kind of stuff you expect from Rodrigues. Eventually, DC got home with 6 balls to spare. For MI, WPL debutant Vaishnavi Sharma's 1/20 was the only shining light in the bowling department.
Also, Nicola Carey was off the field for the majority of the second half of the run chase. That might be something to keep an eye on going forward.