26 March,2023 10:49 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Mumbai Indians (Pic Courtesy: @wplt20)
Title favourites Mumbai Indians will aim to cap their stupendous Women's Premier League (WPL) season by overcoming a rampant Meg Lanning side in the final of the inaugural edition of the tournament on Sunday. However, the runs seem to have dried up from the willow of their talismanic captain Harmanpreet Kaur which will be a concern for the side heading into the summit clash.
Also Read: MI vs DC, WPL Final: Rampant Delhi Capitals seek to stop invincible Mumbai Indians
Surprisingly enough, form has deserted the Indian skipper after three blistering half-centuries earlier on in the tournament. Not only that, Mumbai's top-order failure laid bare once again in the all-important Eliminator and had it not been for Nat Sciver-Brunt's unbeaten 72 against UP Warriorz on Friday, the script of the tournament could have been different today. With Kaur scoring not more than 14 runs in the Eliminator, things could have gone downhill for the team, but luckily Sciver-Brunt made the most of the dropped catch to make a mockery of the Warriorz bowling.
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Wicket-keeper: Yastika Bhatia
Batters: Harmanpreet Kaur, Meg Lanning, Jemimah Rodrigues
All-rounders: Hayley Matthews, Nat Sciver-Brunt (vc), Marizanne Kapp (c), Alice Capsey, Amelia Kerr
Bowlers: Shikha Pandey, Issy Wong
Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium is known to favour batting with very little help for the bowlers. The average first innings score here is 157 but can go up to almost 170 in this tournament with teams batting second winning six of ten games in WPL 2023 here.
Delhi Capitals: Meg Lanning(capt.), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Marizanne Kapp, Alice Capsey, Jess Jonassen, Arundhati Reddy, Taniya Bhatia(w), Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Poonam Yadav, Jasia Akhtar, Laura Harris, Tara Norris, Minnu Mani, Aparna Mondal, Titas Sadhu, Sneha Deepthi
Mumbai Indians: Hayley Matthews, Yastika Bhatia(w), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur(capt.), Melie Kerr, Pooja Vastrakar, Issy Wong, Amanjot Kaur, Humaira Kazi, Jintimani Kalita, Saika Ishaque, Heather Graham, Chloe Tryon, Dhara Gujjar, Sonam Yadav, Neelam Bisht, Priyanka Bala
Delhi Capitals: Meg Lanning (capt.), Shafali Verma, Alice Capsey, Jemimah Rodrigues, Marizanne Kapp, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Jess Jonassen/Tara Norris, Radha Yadav, Arundhati Reddy, Shikha Pandey, Poonam Yadav
Mumbai Indians: Hayley Matthews, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Melie Kerr, Pooja Vastrakar, Issy Wong, Amanjot Kaur, Humaira Kazi, Jintimani Kalita, Saika Ishaque
Delhi Capitals captain Meg Lanning wins toss, opts to bat against Mumbai Indians.
Delhi Capitals: Meg Lanning(c), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Marizanne Kapp, Alice Capsey, Jess Jonassen, Arundhati Reddy, Taniya Bhatia(w), Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Minnu Mani
Mumbai Indians: Yastika Bhatia(w), Hayley Matthews, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Melie Kerr, Pooja Vastrakar, Issy Wong, Amanjot Kaur, Humaira Kazi, Jintimani Kalita, Saika Ishaque
While MI decided to go with the same playing XI, DC brought in Minnu Mani for Poonam Yadav. DC had qualified directly for the final after topping the league stage points table, while MI made it to the summit clash after beating UP Warriorz in the eliminator on Friday.
Follow all the live updates below.
10:40 PM: Mumbai Indians win by 7 wickets. The first WPL champions are here!
10:36 PM: 127/3 after 19 overs
Excellent spell from Shikha Pandey as only 5 runs came off the 18th over. The required run rate is 10.5 and this match can go either way from here. Mumbai Indians have the advantage of having 7 wickets in hand
10:30 PM: 111/3 in 18.3 overs
This has turned out to be a neck-to-neck final. 16 runs off 10 balls to win, will Delhi be able to outrun Mumbai in the last two overs?
10:25 PM: 99/3 in 16.2 overs
That's a wicket! Massive blow to Mumbai. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur run out at a crucial stage of the match, could this be a turning point?
10:20 PM: 95/2 after 16 overs
Kaur is in no mood to bow down to the challenge as she hits a fine boundary that sees 9 runs come off Jess Jonassen's over. Mumbai have certainly strengthened their grip in the match, but the NRR pressure isn't going anywhere. Just 11 runs came off the last two overs as Delhi look very much alive in the game but they must pick wickets to tighten their grip. The required run rate is now 9 which is very much gettable in the last five overs. Fingers crossed!
10:12 PM: 81/2 after 14 overs
Mumbai bounce back fiercely with Kaur and Sciver-Brunt on the field. Only 57 runs required off 43 balls. Jess Jonassen and Alice Capsey continue the attack for Delhi.
10:00 PM: 71/2 after 12 overs
Mumbai have come to steady their ship with captain Kaur and Nat Sciver-Brunt taking the charge of a disappointing top-order display. Delhi, on the other hand, have kept things tight with Shikha Pandey and Radha Yadav at the moment.
9:50 PM: 50/2 after 10 overs
The pressure is far from receding. Only nine runs have come off the last two overs and required run rate is two times higher than the current rate. Mumbai could lose whatever little grip they have on the final if they don't build a steady partnership here.
9:30 PM: 25/2 after 5 overs
If Bhatia's wicket wasn't enough, Mumbai Indians dealt another blow as the dangerous Hayley Matthews falls prey to Jonassen. Matthews drove it mid-on but found a fielder in Arundhati Reddy. Mumbai Indians openers are now back in the hut.
9:20 PM: 13/1 in 1.3 overs
Mumbai lose Yastika Bhatia for 4 off 3, caught by Alice Capsey bowled by Radha Yadav. Some momentum for Delhi Capitals to pile the pressure back on to Mumbai Indians. However, Hayley Matthews is the wicket they should look for now.
9:00 PM: 131/9 after 20 overs
Both Radha Yadav and Shikha Pandey are trying their best to add as many runs as possible to the scoreboard after the top-order let down the side tonight. The Yadav-Pandey partnership is slowly steadying the ship, with 30 runs coming off just 15 balls so far.
8:54 PM: 115/9 after 19 overs
Kaur and Co. have put Delhi out of the equation with a flurry of wickets tonight, much to everyone's surprise. Matthews wrecks DC lower-order, as the competition appears one-sided. After getting rid of Jess Jonassen, she returns to take down Minnu Mani (1) and Taniya Bhatia (0) in the same over. Hats off!
8:40 PM: 79/9 after 16 overs
This is shaping to be a lowest scoring game in the tournament. None could have thought Delhi would falter so badly tonight. Lanning and Kapp tried to rebuild in whatever little ways they could, but in vain.
8:25 PM: 77/7 after 14 overs
Mumbai is all over Delhi batting line-up as they go seven down at the moment. Hayley Matthews takes her second wicket of the night, Jonassen is caught and bowled right after Arundhati Reddy got out on a duck against Melie Kerr.
8:20 PM: 75/6 after 13 overs
Captain Lanning alongside Kapp are in the middle trying to steady the innings with only 10 overs remaining. Delhi have gathered themselves again and now look to counter attack. Mumbai searching for a wicket to put the pressure back on the batters.
8:10 PM: 69/3 after 10 overs
Meg Lanning is fighting a lone battle after losing three partners and all the reviews. She struck a couple of boundaries to Amelia Kerr and is keeping the scoreboard ticking. Not a start Lanning expected.
7:56 PM: 48/3 after 7 overs
Just when the stakes are high, Issy Wong delivers. She picks her third wicket tonight off a full toss. Jemimah Rodrigues is the latest to depart with Delih reeling at 38/3.
7:42 PM: 16/2 after 2 overs
Wicket after wicket! Shafali Verma hits back-to-back boundaries then gets out to a full toss. DC reviewed, third umpire gave it out. Meg & Shafali were clearly not happy with the decision. Some argue it is a no ball. Wong has the same delivery for Alice Capsey. Two full tosses, two wickets after two boundaries were scored off the first two balls.
7:40 PM: 12/0 after 1 over
Delhi makes a cautious start in the big final, with two very dangerous batters on field at the moment. Just two runs off the first over. Verma seems to be pressing the accelerator slowly but carefully.
7:30 PM: Match begins!
Skipper Meg Lanning and Shafali Verma walk in to bat, as Harmanpreet Kaur deploys Nat Sciver-Brunt to open proceedings for Mumbai in the final of the inaugural edition of the tournament.
