Delhi Capitals’ Shafali Verma plays a shot during a ‘Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024’ T20 cricket match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, in Bengaluru, on February 29, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Delhi Capitals rode on Shafali Verma’s half-century (50, 31b, 3×4, 4×6) and Jess Jonassen’s impressive all-round show (three for 21 and 36 n.o., 16b, 4×4, 2×6) to beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 25 runs here at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday.
Chasing 195, RCB skipper Smriti Mandhana put on a show in front of a packed crowd.
She took Royal Challengers past 50 inside PowerPlay single-handedly and brought up her maiden WPL fifty off 32 deliveries in the eighth over.
Opener Sophie Devine fell to Arundhati Reddy before Marizanne Kapp removed the dangerous Smriti, cleaning her up in the 12th over, putting a massive dent in RCB’s hope.
Although S. Meghana and Richa Ghosh scored valuable runs down the order, Royal Challengers fell like a pack of cards towards the end.
Arundhati sent Nadine de Klerk packing and Meghana was run out in the 19th over before Jonassen picked three scalps in the last over to restrict RCB to 169 for nine.
Earlier, a collective batting effort helped DC notch up 194 for five after being put in to bat.
An 82-run stand between Shafali and Alice Capsey (46, 33b, 4×4, 2×6) for the second wicket, where both batters struck boundaries at will, took Capitals past 100 in 12 overs. Shafali fell to Shreyanka Patil after reaching her fifty.
RCB pulled things back with two quick wickets as de Klerk removed Jemimah Rodrigues for a duck before dismissing Capsey to deny her a fifty.
Kapp (32, 16b, 2×4, 3×6) and Jonassen added 48 off 22 for the fifth wicket, providing DC a late flourish.
Jonassen clobbered Shreyanka for a four and a six in the last over, helping Capitals set a formidable target that was enough to stop Royal Challengers.
