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Delhi Capitals defeated UP Warriorz in Match 5 of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2023 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Tuesday.
Captain Meg Lanning and Jess Jonassen sparkled as they helped Delhi Capitals achieve a comfortable 42-run win over the UP Warriorz.
Lanning set the platform with a spectacular 42-ball 70 run innings. Jess Jonassen (42*) and Jemimah Rodrigues (34) then carried forward the momentum and stitched a 67-run unbeaten partnership to power DC to 211/4. Jonassen then picked up 3/43 as DC restricted UPW to 169/5.
Tahlia McGrath fought bravely with a 50-ball 90 for UPW but they fell well short of the daunting target.
Chasing 212, UPW captain Alyssa Healy got going immediately as she cracked a couple of pulls for fours off the first two balls of the innings, off Marizanne Kapp. She then pulled one off Shikha Pandey through square leg and lofted another one down the ground for another couple of fours.
Lanning was brilliant with her bowling changes in the last game against RCB and it didn’t take long for her bowling change to work in this game as she brought on Jonassen in the fourth over who struck off just her third ball removing the dangerous Healy for 24, caught at point and then a ball later, she had Kiran Navgire caught at long on. It shifted the momentum.
Kapp then had Shweta Sehwarat caught behind for 1 and bowled a wicket maiden as UPW trudged to 33/3 in the Powerplay. The Warriorz reached 50 in the 8th over. They needed some sort of momentum and it was provided by Tahlia McGrath as she hit consecutive fours off Tara Norris and then smashed a six and a four off Jonassen.
Just when a partnership was brewing between McGrath and Deepti Sharma, Lanning brought Pandey back into the attack and she struck first ball as she had Deepti caught at long on where Radha Yadav pulled off a stunning diving catch.
McGrath kept the scoreboard ticking but the required run rate kept creeping up. McGrath and Devika Vaidya could hit just one four in three overs (14-16) which meant that the required rate went over 24. Jonassen came back to pick up her third wicket, having Vaidya caught at long on.
McGrath then brought up her fifty off 36 balls with a well-placed four through point and she didn’t go down without a fight as she went berserk hitting three more fours in the over and then 6, 4, 4 off Jonassen. She then cracked a six and a four off the last over bowled by Arundhati Reddy.
The UP Warriorz fell short by 42 runs. McGrath remained unbeaten on 90 off 50 balls which included eleven 4s and four 6s.
Earlier, UP Warriorz captain Alyssa Healy won the toss and elected to field. They made one change as Shabnim Ismail replaced Grace Harris in the playing XI. Delhi Capitals went unchanged.
Ismail started off really well, beating Meg Lanning’s outside edge thrice in the first over. She got a hint of away movement. Lanning then got off the mark, guiding one wide of the short third man fielder.
The Ismail vs Lanning battle continued in the next over as Ismail darted in a fast bouncer which Lanning looked to pull but missed and off the very next ball, Lanning lofted one over long on for a six.
Shafali Verma had shown signs of aggression right from the start but wasn’t getting those boundaries. She finally got one as she backed away and lofted one over wide long off for a six. Lanning then took the attack to Ismail as she pulled one for a six and then hit a couple of fours to make it a 16-run over. The duo then attacked Rajeshwari Gayakwad, hitting four fours in an over. The pair brought up a fifty-run stand from 5.2 overs and scored 62 in the Powerplay.
Healy then introduced Tahlia McGrath into the attack and the move worked as she broke the 67-run opening stand by having Shafali brilliantly caught at fine leg by Kiran Navgire. Lanning though continued to attack and brought up her fifty in style, off just 32 balls, with a six over deep backward square leg, off Sophie Ecclestone.
Rain then made a surprise appearance and interrupted play. But it didn’t last long and play soon resumed. Ecclestone struck in the second over post break and had Marizanne Kapp caught at long off.
Lanning though continued finding gaps as she hit three well-placed fours, one off a cut shot and two off sweeps. Just when she was looking ominous, Gayakwad provided a huge breakthrough when she cleaned up Lanning for 70 (42). Alice Capsey, who is known for her aggressive batting, didn’t let the momentum slip as she hit a couple of sixes and a four off her first six balls.
Healy then brought back Ismail and she struck immediately, having the dangerous-looking Capsey caught at extra cover. She bowled a brilliant over to give away just three runs.
Things slowed down a bit. Jonassen and Rodrigues then provided a late surge, including 19 runs off the McGrath over, as the pair stitched together 67 unbeaten runs off 34 balls to propel DC to 211/4. They were aided by a couple of dropped catches as they hit six fours and three sixes in the partnership. Jonassen remained not out on 42 off 20 balls while Rodrigues remained not out on 34 off 22.
Jess Jonassen was named the Player of the Match for scoring an unbeaten 42 off 20 balls and claiming 3/43 from her four overs.
Brief Scores: Delhi Capitals 211/4 in 20 overs (Meg Lanning 70, Jess Jonassen 42*; Shabmnim Ismail 1/29) beat UP Warriorz 169/5 in 20 overs (Tahlia McGrath 90*, Alyssa Healy 24; Jess Jonassen 3/43) by 42 runs.
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