Arundhati Reddy held her composure to loft the ball over cover for two runs, guiding Delhi Capitals (DC) to a dramatic two-wicket win over season one champions Mumbai Indians (MI) in the second match of Women’s Premier League (WPL) Season 3 at the Kotambi Stadium on Saturday.
The match had it all: a magnificent performance by Nat Sciver-Brunt, an explosive start from opener Shafali Verma, a controlled effort by newcomer Niki Prasad, and a last-ball conclusion that saw Arundhati win victory for Delhi Capitals in a rematch of the 2023 final.
Questions will be raised regarding the final ruling, including whether the TV umpire should have zoomed in deeper. Should the lighting-up of the bails count, or is it only out when they are completely removed? These debates will continue, but they shouldn’t detract from what was a tremendous game.
Earlier, after being put in to bat, the Mumbai Indians were reduced to 164 all out in 19.1 overs, despite Natalie Sciver-Brunt leading the charge with an enthralling unbeaten 80 off 59 balls. After an early shaky start, the English all-rounder gained command of the innings and demonstrated her talent with a series of booming shots. She found the ideal partner in skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who provided a critical 42 off 22 balls as the two batters stabilised the innings following early losses as the Mumbai Indians fell to 32/2.
However, after Harmanpreet left, Mumbai lost their way again. Sciver-Brunt, on the other hand, remained unfazed and finished strongly, dispatching the Delhi bowlers to all parts of the pitch. Despite her heroics, MI failed to keep wickets, with Annabel Sutherland (3/34) and Shikha Pandey (2/14) leading Delhi’s bowling attack. Mumbai’s innings ended with 164 runs, a number that was significantly low on a fine batting pitch.
The Delhi Capitals’ chase began in contrasting manner, with Shafali Verma launching a savage attack on Mumbai’s bowling and Meg Lanning struggling to find her rhythm. Shafali demonstrated her power-hitting abilities against Saika Ishaque in the second over, stepping out and hammering a six over midwicket before following up with three straight fours. Her aggressive desire put Delhi up early, as she raced to 20 off only seven balls.
While Shafali was relentless, fellow opener Meg Lanning was held back by Shabnim Ismail’s excellent bowling, which beat her several times with movement and bounce. Delhi eventually experienced a twin setback when Shafali was caught by Amanjot Kaur off Hayley Matthews for 43, and Lanning’s fight came to an end when Ismail rattled her stumps for 15 runs off 19 balls. Jemimah Rodrigues (2) mistimed a drive off Amelia Kerr, resulting in a simple catch by Harmanpreet at cover. With Annabel Sutherland also falling cheaply to Sciver-Brunt, Delhi was in big danger at 83/4 in the 12th over.
With the squad in dire straits, newcomer Niki Prasad and Alice Capsey banded together to rebuild the innings. Niki Prasad, a teenage wonder who recently led India to the U-19 World Cup triumph, showed tremendous poise, playing risk-free cricket while keeping the needed run rate in reach.
Capsey, meantime, attempted to speed but battled against the cunning Amelia Kerr. She attempted to take on Kerr in the 15th over but was unable to create enough power, holing out to Ismail at long-on for 16 off 18 balls, leaving Delhi on 111/5.
Sarah Bryce, the WPL’s sole Associate nation player, came in and scored four runs on her first ball against Saika Ishaque. In the 17th over, she edged past wicketkeeper Yastika Bhatia for another boundary before hitting a six over cow-corner to keep Delhi’s hopes alive. However, she died soon after, falling for 21 off 10 balls, with Jintimani Kalita making a safe catch off Matthews.
Delhi still required 21 runs from the last two overs, with Niki Prasad and Shikha Pandey at the crease. Ishaque began the penultimate over with disciplined bowling, however a bad call ended in Shikha being run out for 2 from 3 balls. With Radha Yadav now at the crease, Delhi still needed 16 runs from 8 balls.
Radha infused new life into the chase with a magnificent six over midwicket, putting Mumbai under pressure again. However, with 10 runs needed from the final over, Harmanpreet Kaur took a risk by throwing the ball to Sajeevan Sajana, who had not bowled once in the game.
Sajana’s first ball saw Niki Prasad slice a boundary past a diving fielder, shortening the equation to six out of five. The next ball produced two runs, reducing the score to four from four. A misfield gave Delhi a single, leaving them needing two out of two.
Just as it appeared that Delhi was on the approach of triumph, Niki Prasad perished for a well-made 35 off 33 balls, caught by Kerr at deep midwicket. The match was suddenly wide open again, with two points needed off the final ball and Arundhati Reddy on strike.
The final ball saw Reddy race down the pitch and loft it over the cover. As she dashed for the ball, the throw arrived in the striker’s end. The decision was close, as replays revealed Reddy had just made it in time with a frantic dive! The stadium roared as the Delhi Capitals scored a stunning last-ball triumph by two wickets.
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