Delhi Capitals batter Jemimah Rodrigues. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

With an eye on the direct qualification to the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024 final, the Delhi Capitals are set to take on Gujarat Giants in their last league stage match at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday.

DC are set to take on Gujarat Giants in their final WPL match and have already qualified for playoffs. With five wins and two losses and total of 10 points, DC are at the top.

Jemimah Rodrigues, who put up a Player of the Match performance of 58 off 36 balls in the team’s one-run win in the previous game against Royal Challengers Bangalore, said as quoted by a DC press release, “I just kept being honest with my work, kept working hard and at the right time it is just falling into place. I am so happy that I can contribute to the team as much as possible and I just want to keep doing that till we are in the final.”

Jemimah is the eighth-highest run-getter in WPL 2024, with 197 runs in seven innings at an average of 39.40 and a strike rate of 160.16. She has smashed two fifties, with the best score of 69*.

She further added, “We have recovered well. We got a good two days of break. I think we are more prepared than any other team because we have had three such incidents where we saw a last-ball finish. So, these experiences are just going to help us going into the playoffs.”

When asked about the approach going into the last game of the league stage, the 23-year-old batter said, “We have already qualified for the playoffs, but the approach does not change, it stays the same. We have to keep getting better little by little and play good cricket.”

“The plan is to have that dominating approach, keep getting better as cricketers every time we step on the field,” she concluded.

The Delhi Capitals will square off against Gujarat Giants in their next match of the WPL 2024 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Wednesday, March 13, 2024.

Display car glass broken after Ellyse Perry‘s shot during the Women’s Premier League 2024 match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru on March 04, 2024.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

After smashing the display car’s window, Royal Challengers Bangalore’s star batter Ellyse Perry joked about not having insurance to cover the damage.

Perry played an instrumental role during RCB’s 23-run triumph over UP Warriorz at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. In the 19th over, the Australian star smashed the window of the display car in Deepti Sharma’s over, producing a sight that spectators don’t see quite often.

After the game, she talked about her window breaking six and said, “Not sure I have insurance here to cover that.”

RCB’s win saw them complete their home-leg fixtures with an important win. Perry talked about the atmosphere of the stadium and the support that the team received from the home crowd.

“All five games here have been amazing. Best atmosphere without doubt I have played in my whole career. It’s such a cool feeling to have such support,” she added.

Perry throughout her innings backed skipper Smriti Mandhana who was leading the assault on the opposition bowlers. Perry defined her role during the 95-run stand which guided RCB to a mamoth total of 198/3.

“Have played a lot of cricket in the last two months. It’s just the nature of the format, sometimes it clicks. My role was to support Smriti initially and then I could release. Really trying to pride ourselves with our fielding, it’s tricky when there’s a left-right combination. We put in a great effort. It was really great from the girls tonight. Great to finish on a high in front of our home fans,” she concluded.

Coming to the match, after an impressive display with the bat, RCB bowlers managed to take wickets at regular intervals which ensured Warriorz ended the night on the losing side.

Alyssa Healy (55) played a captain’s knock but the constantly increasing asking rate got the better of her. Sophie Molineux cashed in and claimed the captain’s wicket.

Deepti Sharma and Poonam Khemnar managed to put up a meaningful 41-run stand but eventually, their efforts went in vain as RCB comfortably emerged victorious.

D. Hemalatha is among the few to have been retained by Gujarat Giants. Here she is seen in action during WPL Match between UP Warriors and Gujarat Giants held at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai on 20/03/23.
| Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI

Gujarat Giants looks keen to make some significant changes for the second edition of the Women’s Premier League, with the franchise heading the list for releasing the highest number of players.

Giants, which finished at the bottom of the five-team league last year, has released 11 players, while the runner-up Delhi Capitals has let go just three. The champion Mumbai Indians has released four.

Also read | Women’s cricket has finally arrived in India in its full glory!

In all, 29 players have been released by the franchises, while 60, including 21 from abroad, have been retained. The biggest names released are Megan Schutt (Royals Challengers Bangalore) and Shabnim Ismail (UP Warriorz).

In the mini auction, likely to be held in December, Giants will have the largest purse of Rs. 5.95 crore, followed by Warriorz (Rs. 4 crore), RCB (Rs. 3.35 crore), Capitals (Rs. 2.25 crore) and MI (Rs. 2.1 crore).

Also read | Data | Women’s Premier League is no stroke of luck but a hard-fought win

The teams have been talent-scouting at the various domestic tournaments, including ones for juniors. The WPL is likely to start in mid-February.

The list: Delhi Capitals: Retained: Alice Capsey*, Arundhati Reddy, Jemimah Rodrigues, Jess Jonassen*, Laura Harris*, Marizanne Kapp*, Meg Lanning*, Minnu Mani, Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Shafali Verma, Shikha Pandey, Sneha Deepthi, Taniya Bhatia and Titas Sadhu.

Released: Aparna Mondal, Jasia Akhter and Tara Norris*.

Gujarat Giants: Retained: Ashleigh Gardner*, Beth Mooney*, D. Hemalatha, Harleen Deol, Laura Wolvaardt*, Shabnam Shakil, Sneh Rana and Tanuja Kanwar.

Released: Annabel Sutherland*, Ashwani Kumari, Georgia Wareham*, Hurley Gala, Kim Garth*, Mansi Joshi, Monica Patel, Parunika Sisodia, Sabbineni Meghana, Sophia Dunkley* and Sushma Verma.

Mumbai Indians: Retained: Amanjot Kaur, Amelia Kerr*, Chloe Tryon*, Harmanpreet Kaur, Hayley Matthews*, Humairaa Kaazi, Isabelle Wong*, Jintimani Kalita, Natalie Sciver*, Pooja Vastrakar, Priyanka Bala, Saika Ishaque and Yastika Bhatia

Released: Dhara Gujjar, Heather Graham*, Neelam Bisht and Sonam Yadav.

Also read | Winning crucial moments key to Mumbai Indians’ success in WPL, says captain Harmanpreet Kaur

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Retained: Asha Shobana, Disha Kasat, Ellyse Perry*, Heather Knight*, Indrani Roy, Kanika Ahuja, Renuka Singh, Richa Ghosh, Shreyanka Patil, Smriti Mandhana and Sophie Devine*.

Released: Dane Van Niekerk*, Erin Burns*, Komal Zanzad, Megan Schutt*, Poonam Khemnar, Preeti Bose, Sahana Pawar.

UP Warriorz: Retained: Alyssa Healy*, Anjali Sarvani, Deepti Sharma, Grace Harris*, Kiran Navgire, Lauren Bell*, Laxmi Yadav, Parshavi Chopra, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, S. Yashasri, Shweta Sehrawat, Sophie Ecclestone* and Tahlia Mcgrath*.

Released: Devika Vaidya, Shabnim Ismail*, Shivali Shinde and Simran Shaikh.

(* overseas players)