Smriti Mandhana-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) beat Meg Lanning’s Delhi Capitals (DC) by eight wickets with three balls to spare to win their maiden Women’s Premier League (WPL) title. In the low-scoring WPL 2024 final, RCB’s spin trio followed by Ellyse Perry’s patient knock helped them chase down a total of 114 at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi.
Explosive start
After winning the toss, Lanning opted to bat first. Shafali hit the first six of the innings in the second over. She hit a six off Renuka Singh as well. Lanning joined in and hit two fours to make it a 19-run over. Shafali continued to attack and hit Perry for a six and a four. In the next over, both openers hit a boundary each as DC had 61 runs on the board after powerplay overs.
Molineux’s triple strike
Molineux returned in the eighth over and turned the game upside down. Shafali went for a big hit and got caught at the boundary by Georgia Wareham. She scored 44 runs from 27 balls. Jemimah Rodrigues went for a wild sweep and got bowled. On the next ball, Alice Capsey attempted a lap sweep and threw her wicket away. Left-arm spinner Molineux took three wickets in an over.
Patil, Sobhana cause RCB collapse
Lanning and Marizanne Kapp tried to rebuild the innings. After two quiet overs, Shreyanka Patil wrapped Lanning in front of the stumps. The skipper departed for a run-a-ball 23. Asha Sobhana joined the party and got rid of under-pressure Kapp and Jess Jonassen in the same over. Minnu Mani got off the mark with a boundary but lost her wicket to Patil in the next over.
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In the 17th over, Radha Yadav became a victim of a mix-up and got run out. She scored 12 runs from nine balls. In the penultimate over, Patil wrapped up the tail with the wickets of Arundhati Reddy and Taniya Bhatia. DC got bowled out for 113 in 18.3 overs. Patil ended up with four wickets for 12 runs in 3.3 overs.
Quiet powerplay overs
In the powerplay overs, Mandhana and Devine were very cautious and DC bowlers were disciplined with their line and length. Only three boundaries came during the fielding restrictions. RCB had 25 runs on the board after powerplay overs. Devine broke the shackles against Yadav and hit her for three fours and a six to release the pressure.
Devine breaks free
Pandey came back into the attack to dismiss Devine. She scored 32 runs from 27 balls including five fours and a six. At the halfway stage, RCB were 56/1. Pandey came back into the attack to dismiss Devine. She scored 32 runs from 27 balls including five fours and a six. At the halfway stage, RCB were 56/1. After a very slow start, Perry hit her first boundary against Arundhati Reddy.
Perry, Ghosh guide RCB home
Mani in her first over broke the partnership to dismiss Mandhana. The skipper scored 31 runs from 39 balls. In the last five overs, RCB needed 32 runs. Richa Ghosh off the sixth ball he faced hit her first boundary. Perry and Ghosh ensured there was no anti-climax as RCB chased down the target with three balls to spare and won their maiden WPL final by eight wickets.
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