Shafali Verma brilliant half century ensured victory was swift and emphatic, mowing down the target of 127 with 41 balls remaining as Capitals confirmed top spot on the table and direct entry to Sunday’s decider, where they will face either defending champions Mumbai Indians or Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Shafali Verma‘s 37-ball 71, which included 7 fours and 5 sixes, along with Jemimah Rodrigues’s 38 not out off 28, enabled Delhi Capital’s win in only 13.1 overs . A dominant performance from Delhi Capitals helped them sign off the league stage of WPL 2024 with a seven-wicket win over Gujarat Giants and gain a direct entry into the final.
Pitch and Toss
There was a little drizzle earlier in the evening, but the pitch has been well covered. It’s the center wicket and has been used a couple of times earlier as well. 55m and 56m square boundaries, 65m straight. The rain has meant that the pitch has become a bit cool, it indicates that seamers might get some assistance, not much for the spinners. The ball will come onto the bat nicely, runs on offer here.
Gujarat Giants skipper Beth Mooney won the toss and opted to bat. No changes are made in the Gujarat Giants squad . Delhi Capitals skipper Meg Lanning bowling first went in with one change in the squad as Minnu Mani comes in for Titas Sadhu.
Kapping a top campaign as Marizanne Kapp and Minnu Mani account for top order
Beth Mooney and Laura Wolvaardt have been doing most of the heavy lifting with the bat for Giants in this edition, in an overseas-centric batting line-up. With the likes of Phoebe Litchfield and Ashleigh Gardner not really firing in the tournament, the onus has been on the openers to deliver, which they have done over the last few games. But in the final match of the league stage, a failure from both of them exposed their misfiring middle order, and led to a collapse.
Marizanne Kapp accounted for both the openers inside the powerplay and took the purple cap while Dayalan Hemalatha, who had also impressed recently, fell for a low score to Jess Jonassen. The Giants slipped to 16/3 in the fifth over, getting only 23 in the powerplay. Minnu Mani, who replaced Titas Sadhu, ensured another failure for Gardner while Litchfield fell after hitting a six off the same bowler as the Giants were reduced to 48/5 in the 11th over.
Six balls, half of them worldies, and the last ricocheting off Beth Mooney’s thigh pad and crashing into the base of middle and leg stump with a fateful clatter. If Delhi Capitals wanted to ram home their WPL title credentials, there it was, in Marizanne Kapp’s first over of the final group game in this year’s competition, which Capitals won easily to seal their place in the final.
But they weren’t done there, and nor was Kapp. She and Jess Jonassen teamed up, not for the first time, taking two more wickets in quick succession as Gujarat Giants lurched to 16 for 3 inside five overs.
Kapp’s second delivery landed just back of a length in the channel then cut away late, drawing interest from Mooney, who was soundly beaten. Kapp’s fifth, on a similar length but this time on leg stump, cut Mooney in half and had Capitals wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia launching herself to her right to gather. But the next ball was the one, on a length and on leg stump, Mooney tried to turn it away through fine leg only to see it bounce off her thigh and into the woodwork.
Jonassen entered the attack in the fourth over and struck with her third delivery, fired in on a length and coming back into D Hemalatha, who swung and missed as the ball pegged back the top of off stump. Kapp grabbed her second wicket when Laura Wolvaardt miscued to Shafali at mid-off and trudged back to the dugout, completing a Giants top three sitting on the bench with single-figure scores.
Between them, the Capitals duo have taken a combined 12 wickets in powerplays so far in this WPL. Kapp and Jonassen have 11 wickets each for the tournament, putting them in joint top-place with Sophie Ecclestone, whose campaign ended when UP Warriorz exited the tournament in the group stage.
Offspinner Minnu Mani, in the side for Titas Sadhu, took two wickets in the space of five balls to leave Giants reeling at 48 for 5 barely past the halfway point of their innings. She bowled Ashleigh Gardner with one that gripped and turned and smashed into the stumps then saw Phoebe Litchfield caught by Radha Yadav at mid-on in a decisive and immediate riposte after being smashed down the ground for six.
Gujarat Giants rebuild to score 126 as Shikha Pandey knocks them down.
It was thanks largely to Bharati Fulmali, who struck a 36-ball 42 and was involved in a 68-run partnership with Kathryn Bryce. Fulmali, who was on 2 off 5, struck a couple of boundaries in Kapp’s final over to get the stand moving. Both Bryce and Fulmali hit a four apiece off Radha Yadav before Shikha Pandey went for a few runs too.
The half-century stand came up in the 17th over when Bryce pulled Arundhati Reddy for a four. Fulmali hit a total of 7 fours before being bowled by Pandey in the penultimate over, followed immediately by the wicket of Tanuja Kanwar. Shabnam Shakil and Meghna Singh were both run out in the last over but two fours were managed off Jonassen, helping the Giants finish their innings better than they started.
Bharti Fulmali and Kathryn Bryce combined for a 68-run partnership off 50 balls to stage something of a fightback, Fulmali striking seven boundaries on the way to her 36-ball 42 as she top-scored for her side. But Shikha Pandey arrived to bowl the penultimate over and grabbed two wickets in as many balls. She bowled Fulmali with a full delivery which crashed into off stump and had Tanuja Kanwar out playing onto a short, slower ball outside off stump.
Shabnam Shakil survived the hat-trick ball but was the first of two quick run outs, Meghna Singh following her, before Bryce struck Jonassen’s last delivery through the off side for four to remain unbeaten but with huge doubt over whether Giants had anywhere near enough.
DC make positive start in chase as Shafali Verma took over the proceedings.
Shakil’s quiet 3-run opening over was just a lull before the storm hit the Giants. Meg Lanning took charge this time, hitting four fours off Bryce in the second while Shafali Verma struck three boundaries off Shakil in the third over to help the Capitals race away in the chase.
Fortunately for the Giants, they saw the back of Lanning who was run out after Shafali Verma declined a quick single, and Alice Capsey fell for a three-ball duck off Kanwar. But DC ended the powerplay on a strong note, with Shafali Verma slamming a six off Meghna and Rodrigues getting a four off Kanwar as they moved to 45/2.
Shafali Verma’s power packed batting propels Delhi to finals of WPL 2024.
After the powerplay Shafali Verma took the attack to Gardner, hitting three sixes and a four in the two overs bowled by the Australian, which yielded 28 runs. This was after Kanwar had put down a catch off her own bowling to give Shafali Verma a reprieve. Rodrigues also got into the act, getting a maximum off Mannat Kashyap, and Shafali Verma also struck a four in the same over to bring up a 28-ball fifty.
Meghna gave away 20 runs in the 12th over, which included two fours for Rodrigues and a six and a four for Shafali Verma. She also hit a boundary off Kanwar in the 13th over before having to depart trying to play a glory shot. The winning boundary from Rodrigues in the 14th over helped the Capitals complete the thrashing of the Giants as the league stage ended with both sides poles apart.
Capitals gave the distinct impression they had somewhere to be – the final, to be precise – when Meg Lanning and Shafali raced to 31 without loss after three overs. Lanning started it with four fours in five balls off Bryce’s first over, the second of the pursuit. Shafali then hit three off Shabnam in the next before Lanning was run-out, sent back by her partner after pushing Kanwar’s first ball towards point where Wolvaardt gathered and threw to wicketkeeper Mooney as Lanning dived in vain, gone for 18 off 10.
Giants would have been pleased to remove Alice Capsey, taken at mid-off for a four-ball duck off Kanwar moments later to make it 31 for 2. But Shafali continued as she had begun, bettering her six off Meghna over long-on with a glorious 91m effort to begin Gardner’s first over and another down the ground to end it. Gardner came in for more Shafali punishment in her second over, a four to the right of long-on and a six heaved over the fence in the same region to take Capitals to 82 for 2 after 10 overs.
Jemimah Rodrigues lofted Mannat Kashyap over long-off for a six of her own before Shafali brought up her fifty with a four past extra cover and the runs kept flowing, Meghna conceding 20 runs off the 12th over as Capitals moved to within 10 of victory.
Shafali’s defiant four down the ground off Kanwar brought them within one hit but her dismissal moments later trying to finish it but picking out Litchfield at mid-off instead meant that while she walked off with a wonderful 71 from just 37 balls, it was Rodrigues who hit the winning runs, a crisp four off Mannat through point.
Presentations and Road Ahead.
Beth Mooney the Loosing captain said :
“We were outplayed in all facets. Didn’t get a great start with the bat and then let the runs come quickly when we bowled. We do have some positives to take back, some individual performances which allowed us to be competitive at times during the tournament,”
“We probably needed a bowler and an all-rounder, we lost Kashvee Gautam, Mannat showed what she could do, some batters like Laura came up well. She is a great kid, always has a smile on her face (on Shabnam Shakil), she has a great future and I’m not sure I’d like to face her in the nets,”
“Disappointment (on her analysis of the season), might’ve to look for a next captain, it’s been hard on me. We have got a great coach and an excellent management, we have a few pieces and will need to string them together much better in the next season,”
Meg Lanning the Winning captain said :
“It wasn’t as close as the earlier game, less stressful. (On Shafali) When she plays like that, she makes it look very easy. So much fun to watch her dominate like that. I think we’ve had good patches in all games, we know our plans and our execution is getting better,”
“We’ve been excellent right from the start, despite losing that first game. T20 is always a close game, it will be a great semi-final and we’ll be watching eagerly. Either of those two sides (RCB and MI), it will be a great contest, there are some great match winners in both sides,”
Shafali Varma Player of the Match for her 71 of 37 balls said :
“I have always thought of trying to play straight, today also that was the plan. Whenever the bowlers bowled well, I respected those deliveries. If anything was in my range, I would go for it. I backed my strengths and it worked today. Was in good touch today, wanted to stay till the end,”
“Disappointed I couldn’t end the innings today. I always try to do my best in fielding as well, stop as many runs as possible. That’s been a crucial part of our management, to focus on our fielding and restrict teams to as few runs as possible,”
Delhi Capitals chase this down on a canter to finish top of the league and qualify straight for the finals!! They needed just 127 to win today, and skipper Meg Lanning got a flurry of boundaries in the powerplay to get going. She however was run out shortly after, and new batter Alice Capsey fell in the same over, as Tanuja Kanwar delivered a wicket maiden. Delhi however weren’t too troubled by those two wickets, as Shafali Varma and Jemimah stitched together a 94-run partnership.
Shafali Varma was at his attacking best, advancing down the track and hitting it over the infield for a few boundaries. She scored a brisk fifty and kept going after as well, as Jemimah played a good second fiddle role while playing a few aggressive strokes of her own. Shafali was looking good to finish the game, but ended up holing out to mid-off attempting a glory shot to win the game. Jemimah however finished the game off in the next over with a boundary.
The Capitals finished as the top team on the points table with six wins out of eight while the Giants, with only two victories, finished with the wooden spoon for the second season in succession. The Capitals await the victor of the Eliminator clash between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore which will be held on March 15.