The Delhi Capitals (DC) sealed a 1-run win in a jaw-dropping final-ball thriller against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Match 17 of the TATA Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024 on Sunday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
It all came down to the final ball as Delhi Capitals successfully defended 180 in front of a buzzing home crowd despite Richa Ghosh’s valiant fifty.
Chasing 182 for two crucial points, the Royal Challengers Bangalore Captain Smriti Mandhana had a new opening partner in the form of Sophie Molineux.
Alice Capsey and Delhi Capitals struck early as Smriti Mandhana was out LBW in the 2nd over. Ellyse Perry then joined hands with Sophie Molineux as RCB moved to 42/1 at the end of powerplay.
The Australian duo batted steadily and crossed fifty runs for the second wicket. Shikha Pandey’s sharp fielding brought an end to Ellyse Perry’s 49-run knock just two deliveries after the RCB batter was dropped at long-off.
In the very next over, Sophie Molineux fell to Jemimah Rodrigues’ catch off Arundhati Reddy’s bowling.
The 15th over bowled by Radha Yadav brought RCB back in the game thanks to Sophie Devine smashing 17 runs off the over.
The visitors needed 45 off the final four with Sophie Devine and Richa Ghosh going all guns blazing. Marizanne Kapp came to the rescue for DC by removing Sophie Devine for 26.
With 11 needed off the final over, Richa Ghosh smashed two sixes to bring the equation down to 2 off 1. However, the RCB batter was run out on the final delivery as the home side clinched a narrow 1-run win.
Earlier, Delhi Capitals won the toss and elected to bat. The power of Shafali Varma and the elegance of Meg Lanning meant that the home side were off to a glorious start.
The fifty partnership was up for the opening wicket and DC were placed at 53/0 at the end of powerplay.
Asha Shobhana was introduced into the attack right after the powerplay and the right-arm spinner handed over the first breakthrough for RCB in the form of Shafali Verma.
One breakthrough brought another for the visitors as Shreyanka Patil trapped Meg Lanning LBW in the 9th over. The Delhi Capitals were 84/2 at the halfway mark as Alice Capsey & Jemimah Rodrigues carried off the solid momentum built by the openers.
The confidence grew further for the two batters thanks to some trademark sweeps and cut shots as the fifty-run stand was up for the second wicket. While Alice Capsey kept rotating the strike from one end, Jemimah Rodrigues motored along her way to a fifty with a stylish maximum over deep extra-cover.
Capsey then got a move on as the 150 was up for DC with 3 overs remaining. Shreyanka led RCB’s fightback by picking three quick wickets including the crucial breakthroughs of Rodrigues (58) & Capsey (48). With the RCB spinner conceding just 5 off the final over, DC reached 181/5 in the first innings.