In the final match of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) defeated Delhi Capitals (DC) by eight wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
DC skipper Meg Lanning won the toss and asked RCB to bowl first. While the first six overs didn’t go as intended for the Smriti Mandhana-led side, however, after powerplay, the unit battled back valiantly to bowl out DC for just 113 runs in 18.3 overs. The likes of Shreyanka Patil, Sophie Molineux, and Asha Sobhana showed off their bowling prowess and shocked the home team by taking all ten wickets between them.
In the chase, the team started off the inning quite slowly but steadily worked it through to win the game quite comfortably. Standing tall, Captain Mandhana (31) and Sophie Devine (32) struck 49 runs for the first wicket stand, which most likely sealed the victory. In addition to them, Ellyse Perry (35*) and Richa Ghosh (17*) carried the momentum to get RCB beyond the winning line in the final over.
With the bat in the first inning, DC began sharply as both openers, Lanning (23) and Shafali Verma (44), were cruising easily through the overs. Verma appeared to be in a fantastic mindset to score big, but she only lasted until the seventh over. The team crumbled drastically from this point forward, wiping out the entire season’s efforts. Except for Radha Yadav (12) and Arundhati Reddy (10), every other batter had a single-digit score. The team finished with 113 runs on board, which was 30 runs short.
While bowling first, RCB completely demolished DC’s batting lineup. From 64 for no loss to 113 all out, RCB produced one of the finest comebacks, and on the biggest of occasions. Molineux led the way with three wickets, while Sobhana and Patil followed suit with two and four wickets, respectively.
DC, with the ball, had a mountain to climb. The side restrained RCB for the first few overs but once the southern side began to unleash, it was only a matter of finishing the game and collecting the cup. Shikha Pandey and Minnu Mani were the only ones to grab one wicket each.
Sophie Molineux was adjudged Player of the Match for her brilliant bowling show. Following this win, RCB have clinched the WPL 2024 trophy.
Scorecard:
Delhi Capitals: 113/10, Overs 18.3, Shafali Verma 44, Shreyanka Patil 4/12
Royal Challengers Bangalore: 115/2, Overs 19.3, Ellyse Perry 35, Shikha Pandey 1/11