10:50pm That will be all from us for tonight. We will be back again tomorrow, nice and early as the Delhi Capitals take on the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Until then, this is goodbye from Venkat Raghav and myself. Take care, folks!
Jess Jonassen, Player of the Match: I think it is a bit of shock I am here, the skipper should be out here (collecting the POTM award). (On the first over she bowled) I mis-executed a few balls, changed the plan towards the back end of that over. Getting the ball outside the powerplay, I knew I would be able to put some pressure (on the batters). I am happy, pretty happy to hang on to a caught-and-bowled, having made a name for myself for not holding on (laughs). The whole bowling group did an exceptional job. She (Mani) was incredible. An extremely talented bowler. Good for her to get an opportunity to come in and take important wickets. Had a few conversations on what lengths to bowl. The way she came back (towards the end) was amazing.
Meg Lanning, Delhi Capitals captain: We wanted to come in and put all three facets together. Have had patches but had not been able to put it together. Our bowlers set it up nicely, we took wickets throughout, which really helps. We got the win tonight, very happy tonight and hopefully we can come back (and do the same tomorrow). We were a touch short in the first over, had to adjust our lengths, Kappie and Shikha did that very well. Then Sutherland coming in through the middle, and shoutout to Minnu Mani - she has been brilliant all tournament. She has incredible skills, some good variations and real improvement from our whole team and from our Indian domestic players. (On the Sutherland catch) It was an incredible catch. We speak about wanting to attack every ball that goes in the air. Crucial (catch) for us. (On the approach to chasing) Same as normal. Go out there and attack the powerplay. When you have Shafali at the other end, that makes it easy. Put them under pressure and keep it (that way). It was a great battle with Ismail. She has played a lot of cricket, I have played a lot of games. Love coming up against her, got a few away but those bouncers came at me pretty quick (smiles).
Harmanpreet Kaur, Mumbai Indians captain: Today was one of the days where nothing went according to us. We did not put up a decent total and could not hit the good length areas that we had discussed after the break. (On what went wrong with the batting) We struggled to score runs in the first six overs. We got some rhythm in between but could not continue. That (score) was not enough and we were definitely short by 30-40 runs. In the last three games, we did everything right. Tonight, nothing went right. I would love to tell them (the team) to forget this day because the upcoming matches are important. Whenever we meet again, we want to take the positives and take it from there.
Jemimah Rodrigues: We very badly needed this win. We have not been playing our best cricket but were managing wins. Good victory and we will take a lot of confidence (from this). We were talking about making our own energy. The catch Sutherland took, the stop Minnu made - good to see our team back. (On the message to DC's opening pair) Just keep going. Meg and Shafali, the understanding they have, it is tremendous to see. Meg being on the opposite side, she keeps telling Shafali to hit straight and that works for her. (On the floss celebration) It was due. A WPL season is not over without me doing it. The crowd was so energetic today, and (I) got pumped up. It was so cute to watch (fans trying to copy my floss celebration).
ICYMI: Meg Lanning has taken over from Ellyse Perry as the highest run-getter in WPL cricket.
10:26pm A Meg Lanning special and the usual Shafali Verma blitzkrieg - that was the story of this run-chase. DC did not need many but things could have become uneasy had they lost wickets in the powerplay. As it turned out, they lost none in the first six, and also ransacked 57, bringing the required run-rate down to very meagre proportions. Shafali departed before the finishing touches were added but their skipper, against her favourite opposition, iced the chase, and fired a warning shot that both she and her side are ready to last the distance again.
MI, at the half-way stage, had a mountain to climb and they did not help themselves with their wayward bowling. None of their bowlers, probably barring Ismail, looked threatening and the continuous concession of boundaries meant they could never put enough pressure on the Capitals to prise open opportunities. Stick around as we bring the post-match interviews.
Around the wicket
Gupta to bowl what could be the last over of this game. Three fielders out on the leg side. Over the wicket
END OF OVER:14 | 7 Runs | DC-W: 121/1 (3 runs required from 36 balls, RR: 8.64, RRR: 0.50)
- Meg Lanning58 (48b)
- Jemimah Rodrigues14 (8b)
- Hayley Matthews2-0-16-0
- Jintimani Kalita1-0-9-0
DC one hit away from topping the table
Matthews back into the attack. Around the wicket
END OF OVER:13 | 9 Runs | DC-W: 114/1 (10 runs required from 42 balls, RR: 8.76, RRR: 1.42)
- Meg Lanning54 (44b)
- Jemimah Rodrigues12 (6b)
- Jintimani Kalita1-0-9-0
- Amanjot Kaur2-0-12-1
Lanning now has eight fifty-plus scores in the WPL - the most for any individual, going past Perry, who has seven such scores