Mumbai Indians got one more feather to their cap of victory as a franchise after the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) win. They became champions after a seven-wicket win over Delhi Capitals in the final at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
Earlier in the day, Delhi Capitals captain Meg Lanning won the draw and batted first. Issy Wong continued her tournament dream by sending off Shafali Verma, Alice Capey, and Jemimah Rodrigues on the power play. DC couldn’t recover from the onset of the Terror as they stumbled to 79-9. Meg Lanning looked good despite falling wickets but got out after a run following a mix-up with fellow Australian Jeff Jonassen.
DC’s 11th pair of wickets stunned the world with an impressive 52-run partnership to help the Capitals put a 131 score on the board. Shikha Pandey scored 27 balls from 17 while Radha Yadav hit 27 of 12 balls. Hayley Matthews was the first to get a wicket of the Mumbai bowlers, with three wickets to her credit. She gave away just five runs in four overs.
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TheMumbai chase got off to a poor start as both openers Yastika Bhatia and Matthews started in the first half. As a result, DC’s bowling unit slowed MI’s batting average as the pressure mounted on Nat Sciver Brunt and Harmanpreet Kaur.
The duo ensured MI suffered no further setbacks in the pursuit as they cemented the innings with a 72-run partnership. Harmanpreet again fell victim to a breakaway in a big match after hitting 37 runs from 39 balls to level the game again. Nat Sciver kept her cool and scored off her half-century. Amelie Kerr continued her brilliant form with the bat, as she crushed Jonassen for a pair of boundaries in the 19th, taking MI down to 5 runs in the last.
Nat Sciver kept her cool and easily brought MI over the line in the final. The win for MI Women added to their tally of 5 Indian Premier League (IPL) men’s trophies along with two Champions League trophies won by the men’s team.
Short Scores:
Delhi Capitals Women 131/9 in 20 overs (Meg Lanning 35, Radha Yadav 27*; Hayley Matthews 3-5, Issy Wong 3-42, Melanie Kerr 2-18) lost the WPL final against Mumbai Indians Women 134/3 in 19.3 Overs (Nat Sciver-Brunt 60*, Harmanpreet Kaur 37; Radha Yadav 1-24) through seven wickets.
