Sajeevan Sanjana's last-ball six in Mumbai Indians' (MI) thrilling four-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals made headlines in Women's Premier League (WPL) 2024 opener on February 23. In a tension-filled chase of 172, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led MI kept the match alive until the final moments.
Despite the seemingly straightforward task of defending five runs off the last ball, Alice Capsey nearly sealed the victory by dismissing Harmanpreet Kaur on the penultimate delivery.
Sanjana's last-ball six scripts Mumbai's thrilling win
This left Sajana with the daunting challenge of hitting a six to secure the win. However, Alice Capsey's delivery erred slightly in length, landing fuller on the middle stump. Capitalising on this opportunity, Sajana charged down the track and smashed the ball into the long-on stands to script MI's win in WPL 2024 opener. Sajana's exuberant celebration contrasted sharply with Capsey's disbelief at the sudden turn of events. Harmanpreet, too, shared in the excitement, aware that Mumbai continued to maintain their unbeaten streak while chasing. Prior to this match, they had emerged victorious in all five of their previous encounters batting second in the WPL 2023. With this win, the defending champions extended their streak to six consecutive victories while chasing.
Harmanpreet in awe of Sanjana's heroics
Harmanpreet, who was adjudged the player of the match for a brilliant fifty, lavished praise on Sanjana in the post match presentation.
“Happy where we ended. Really happy with the way we played. I would love to give credit to my batting coach, Himanshu bhaiya. After that Australia tour, I was not confident, he made me practice hard and gave me energy. I was not playing domestic cricket, I was not feeling great. Mentally that break helped me. Wicket looked fine while batting, we thought if we took the game deep, we felt we could win. [on Sajana] She was smacking sixes during the practice session and she showed us tonight. We were looking to finish the game in the first 3 balls but we know we have depth in our batting, because of Sajana I'm standing here. Batting first or second does not matter, only conditions matter and according to that we change.”
Harmanpreet leads from the front
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur spearheaded the team's batting with a solid 55 runs, while wicketkeeper-batsman Yastika Bhatia chipped in with an important 57 runs off 45 deliveries, hitting eight boundaries and two sixes. Amelia Kerr also played a key role, scoring 24 runs and forming a 44-run partnership with Harmanpreet for the fourth wicket.
Earlier, the Delhi Capitals had set a challenging target of 171/5, with England's Capsey standing out by scoring a notable 75 runs. Capsey's knock was marked by eight boundaries and three sixes, greatly aiding her team's total. The team's opener and skipper, Meg Lanning, contributed 31 runs, while Jemimah Rodrigues added a quickfire 42 from 24 balls, featuring five fours and two sixes.
Meanwhile, DC captain Meg Lanning after the match said"
“It was sliding on and Mumbai bowled a tight length and kept it tight. Generally it was pretty good for bowlers, Mumbai bowled pretty well upfront which probably was the difference. We thought we were in the game, we would have liked a few more. We fought to take it to the last ball, unfortunately it was not to be. For most part we executed pretty well, short side and Yastika as the left-hander complicated things. For the first game considering we got one week before it was a good effort. We sort of nearly snuck in the end. When we got Kaur out, we were in the game, but to come out and get a six like that first ball is pretty impressive. [on Capsey for the last over] The big side to the right-handers, spearing the ball to get their batters to hit to the longer side was the plan.”
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