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Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) Richa Ghosh gave it her all but in the end, it was not enough. She fell short of the crease and could not take the game into super over as Delhi Capitals (DC) won the thrilling Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024 clash by just one run. With their fifth win of the tournament, Meg Lanning-led DC reclaimed the top spot on the points table.
Rodrigues-Capsey help DC score big
Earlier, Lanning won the toss and opted to bat first. After a slow start, Lanning broke free in the fourth over hitting Renuka Thakur for four fours. Shafali Verma hit Shraddha Pokharkhar for a six and a four as DC had 53 for no loss after powerplay overs. Asha Sobhana got the breakthrough as Shafali got caught at point by Sophie Molineux. She scored 23 runs from 18 balls. In the next over, Shreyanka Patil trapped Lanning in front of the stumps. She scored 29 runs from 26 balls.
Alice Capsey and Jemimah Rodrigues tried to push the scoring rate as they looked for boundaries. Molienux took a beating in the 12th over as Rodrigues hit her for two fours. In the next over, she reached her half-century with a six. She took just 26 balls to score fifty, making it the second-fastest in WPL history. In the 17th over, DC crossed the 150-run mark. Patil returned to break the partnership. Rodrigues got bowled as she attempted a sweep shot. She scored 58 runs from 36 balls including eight fours and a six.
In the penultimate over, Capsey hit a couple of boundaries whereas Marizanne Kapp hit a maximum. In the final over, Patil dismissed Capsey and Jess Jonassen. Capsey scored 48 runs from 32 deliveries including eight fours. Capsey got bowled whereas Jonassen got stumped. Patil conceded just five runs in the final over. DC posted a total of 181/5 on the board.
Ghosh’s fireworks not enough
Capsey did the damage with the ball as well. Smriti Mandhana got out lbw for a single-digit score. Ellyse Perry joined Molineux in the middle. Perry hit the first six of the innings in the fifth over. After the powerplay overs, RCB had 42/1 on the board. After a slow start, Molineux tried to accelerate. At the halfway stage, RCB were 81/1. In the next over, Perry got a reprieve as Capsey dropped a simple catch at long-off. But Perry could not make the most of it and was run out despite a full-length dive. She scored 49 runs from 49 runs from 32 balls including seven fours and a six.
In the next over, Molineux was dismissed by Arundhati Reddy. She scored 33 runs from 30 balls including five fours. Sophie Devine was lucky as she survived a mix-up because the bails did not come off. In the 15th over, Devine hit Radha Yadav for two sixes and a four. Ghosh joined her as well. The wicketkeeper-batter hit Reddy for a six and a four. Devine reached 11,000 T20 runs but lost her wicket to Kapp in the 18th over. Devine scored 26 runs from 16 balls. Ghosh and Georgia Wareham hiut a boundary each in Kapp's last over to keep the run chase alive.
RCB needed 28 runs in the final two overs. In the penultimate over, Ghosh and Wareham managed to get one boundary each. But Shikha Pandey ended her spell with Wareham's wicket. She scored 12 runs from six balls. In the final over, RCB needed 17 runs. Lanning handed the ball to Jonassen, Ghosh started with a six. After a dot ball, Disha Kasat was run out trying to take the second run. She followed it up with a couple of runs. On the penultimate delivery, she smashed it over deep mid-wicket for a maximum. She reached her half-century from 28 balls. On the last ball, with two runs were needed Ghosh hit the ball toward point but could not scamper for a single and got run out. DC managed to win the nail-biter by one run.
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