Follow Scroll.in’s coverage of WPL 2023 here.
WPL 2023: Better late than never, but late nevertheless
TOSS: Meg Lanning opts to bowl first.
First innings: RCB 150/4 after 20 overs
Second innings: DC 154/4 after 19.4 overs
That will be all for the blog. On Tuesday, it will be MI against GG. Can Harmanpret Kaur and Co keep winning?
Scenarios: For RCB to reach top three.... MI win both their matches vs UPW and GG. DC win both their matches vs UPW and GG. GG defeat UPW. All that seems plausible.
RCB must win all three matches... can they?
How big was that moment?
Player of the match: Jess Jonassen, for the second time for what she has done with the bat.
Scenarios: Five matches into the tournament, RCB already cannot reach the top two spots with MI and DC at 8 points. Three matches to go, RCB must win all three and hope both UPW doesn’t win another match *AND* GG win one at best.
DC 154/4 after 19.4 overs: RCB came close. But no chocolate. 5 defeats out of 5. That start with the bat was just too bad to recover from. Needed another 15 runs to defend at least.
19.4: A four down the ground and Jonassen takes DC home with 2 balls to spare.
19.3: A six for JJ and that is that. 1 needed to win.
19.2: A single for Kapp. 7 off 4.
19.1: A single for Jonassen. 8 off 5.
Renuka Thakur to bowl the last. Can she defend 9?
DC 135/4 after 18 overs: Bowling 19th over to two gun internationals with just 16 needed to win. And Shreyanka Patil coolly bowls a great first three balls. Jonassen smacks the fourth for four. But the youngster comes back well.
Shreyanka again. A big decision for who to bowl the last over but this is huge too.
DC 135/4 after 18 overs: A super crucial six by Kapp off a short ball from Perry. There is delay at the end of the over to check a stumping, takes forever but Kapp is in. Need 16 from 12 balls.
Perry. Another big call from Mandhana. Bowling out her overseas stars.
DC 127/4 after 17 overs: Megan Schutt down for Kapp for four dot balls but Kapp hits back with a superb square cut for four. Things getting tighter.
DC 122/4 after 16 overs: Was shaping into a tidy over but Jonassen cuts one away for four. Par for DC.
Shreyanka time. Can she keep things tight? 37 needed off 30 balls.
DC 114/4 after 15 overs: Jonassen hits a first-ball four but RCB can believe here. Timeout.
DC 109/4 after 14.3 overs: WICKET! What a moment in the game potentially. DC needed Rodrigues to see this through but she fals going for a skier. Rodrigues c Ghosh b Asha 32 (28 balls)
DC 106/3 after 14 overs: A streaky four for Rodrigues in that Perry over where she could have got the wicket of Kapp but the ball in the middle of fielders. Not happening for RCB at the moment.
DC 96/3 after 13 overs: One brilliant late cut from Rodrigues for four, but otherwise a fine over by Shreyanka.
DC 90/3 after 12 overs: DROPPED! Oh Bose. Rodrigues hits Perry straight to point and Preeti Bose can’t hang on. Huge moment, JR is capable of finishing this chase from here. A terrific over from Perry though, including a superb bouncer to Kapp.
DC 88/3 after 11 overs: Good rotation of strike in that Asha over. Rodrigues will look to play the long haul here. The required rate is not that high.
DC 83/3 after 10 overs: DC are comfortably ahead of where RCB were at this stage but this is closer than it seems. One wicket here and RCB could be in business.
DC 70/3 after 8.4 overs: WICKET! That is the benefit of having a wrist spinner in the XI and RCB have a big breakthrough. Flighted up, and Lanning doesn’t get enough distance to be caught at long off. Lanning c Knight b Asha 15 (18 balls)
Ah right, we missed the fact that DC still have KApp to come in.
DC 67/2 after 8 overs: After being denied what she thought was a wide, Lanning smacks one past square leg for four. But a decent over by Shreyanka too. RCB are keeping things tidy.
DC 60/2 after 7 overs: One short ball down the leg side, punished by Rodrigues for four. But a decent over by Asha otherwise.
Asha Joy, the leg-spinner, gets another match today. She is into the attack. DC don’t have the deepest batting lineups, if they can get Lanning here, RCB are in the game.
DC 52/2 after 6 overs: Terrific contest in that over as Perry tests Lanning with some short balls as well as swing. An entertaining powerplay comes to an end.
DC 45/2 after 4.5 overs: WICKET! 4-4-4byes-4-OUT. Capsey goes hard after Preeti Bose but finally is caught at deep midwicket. The damage might be done though. Capsey c Perry b Preeti Bose 38 (24 balls)
DC 29/1 after 4 overs: Renuka Thakur continues to struggle in this tournament. A scoop behind the stumps throws her off line and Capsey follows that up with two cut shots for four. Smart matting.
DC 16/1 after 3 overs: The swing seems to be waning out as Schutt starts to hit hard lengths. Just 4 singles in that over.
DC 12/1 after 2 overs: Some movement for Renuka too. Capsey a bit shaky in that over but finishes with a lofted hit for another four over mid-on. Not convincing but she is playing her shots.
DC 1/1 after 0.2 overs: WICKET! Mad innings not so long ago, bowled by a peach first ball tonight. Shafali falls against Schutt and RCB have broken the opening stand MUCH quicker than they did in their previous match. Somewhere someone is going, cricket is a great leveller. Schutt is a beast when she can move the new ball in. Verma b Schutt 0 (1 ball)
RCB 150/4 after 20 overs: RCB’s biggest issue has been their bowling. Can they strike early? Lanning and Shafali in the middle. Schutt will be hoping for some swing.
After 10 overs: 50/2
After 20 overs: 150/4
RCB triple their score in the 2nd half.
RCB 150/4 after 20 overs: Perry gives credit to Richa for an awesome innings, says it is good to reach 150 from where they were 12-13 overs.
RCB 150/4 after 20 overs: Perry starts off the final over with a six but Jonassen comes back well to prevent any more boundaries. All said and done a decent recovery by RCB.
RCB 139/4 after 19 overs: That dropped catch will bother her but a day to remember otherwise for Pandey. 4-0-23-3. Just four from that over.
RCB 137/4 after 18.2 overs: WICKET! Pandey has her third and it’s a good review by DC. Richa Ghosh with her best innings of the WPL so far. The move to DY Patil has certainly changed things for her. Ghosh c Bhatia b Pandey 37 (16 balls)
RCB 135/3 after 18 overs: It’s raining sixes now. One each in that Jonassen over for Perry and Ghosh.
RCB 117/3 after 17 overs: Correction. 17 done. Jonassen to bowl the 18th.
RCB 117/3 after 17 overs: 20-run over! Two sixes for Ellyse Perry and one for Richa Ghosh. What a turnaround. That Pandey dropped catch looking costlier by the minute. Fifty for Perry in that over.
RCB 97/3 after 16 overs: Another big over for RCB. A brilliant straight six by Richa Ghosh who has been subdued this tournament so far. A four either side of it as Capsey’s over goes for 17.
RCB 80/3 after 15 overs: How the night changes. Pandey took a stunner earlier but misses a simple return catch off Perry. A four to start to that over and then after the drop, a six to finish the over. MOMENTUM.
RCB 68/3 after 14 overs: Just 4 runs from Kapp’s over as RCB just can’t find momentum. Richa is the new batter in. 4-1-18-0 for Kapp.
RCB 63/3 after 12.4 overs: WICKET! Shikha Pandey, everywhere all at once. Knight seems to have hit this sweep well but the pacer dives to the left and takes a terrific catch with the ball coming at her quite quick. Knight c Pandey b Norris 11 (12 balls)
RCB 61/2 after 12 overs: Knight hits a reverse sweep for four to start that over but Radha does well to keep it to 7. RCB need a move on here. They have wickets in hand, can they finish strongly? 9 an over takes them to 133 and that is not going to be enough.
RCB 54/2 after 11 overs: Kapp comes back and concedes just 4 runs
RCB 50/2 after 10 overs: Perry with a four through extra cover off Jonassen. She has been joined by Knight in the middle, so watch out for the running between the wickets. Perry profusely apologised for their mix up last time
RCB 41/2 after 9 overs: WICKET! Into Devine with a scrambled seam and the stumps are down. Devine b Pandey 21 (19 balls)
RCB 38/1 after 8 overs: Just two runs in Norris’s over and it’s time for a timeout as RCB struggle.
RCB 36/1 after 7 overs: Radha Yadav into the attack, a boundary for Ellyse Perry in that over. Just 7 off it though.
RCB 29/1 after 6 overs: It is another struggle for RCB with the bat. Jonassen starts with a 1-run over.
RCB 24/1 after 3.1 overs: WICKET! And it is another disappointing outing with the bat for Mandhana. She tends to do this against pace, short ball-pull is a favourite of hers but sometimes finds the fielders. Looks like a plan from RCB there. Mandhana c Rodrigues b Pandey 8 (15 balls)
RCB 24/0 after 3 overs: And Mandhana continues to treat the off-spinner with respect here. Rotating the strike. A four for Devine in Capsey’s over. Decent start for RCB here.
RCB 17/0 after 3 overs: A four each for Devine and Mandhana. A delightful drive past mid-off for the captain.
RCB 7/0 after 2 overs: Devine starts the over with the four. Don’t have the numbers but I imagine Sophie Devine will have the best first-ball strike-rate in the WPL by some distance. Has either hit a four or six consistently. Good comeback from Capsey, just 7 of that over. Mandhana did the right thing by getting off strike.
No surprise, Capsey right away to test Mandhana with some off spin.
RCB 0/0 after 1 over: Maiden over from Kapp! The shape into the LHB for most of that over, finishes with one that angles away and beats Mandhana’s outside edge. Tentative from the RCB captain, terrific from the DC pacer.
Kapp, fresh from a five-for, will get things going. Mandhana and Devine in the middle.
7.25 pm: RCB continue to ring in the changes. Four today. They are still searching for the right combination. But must say, the ones today on paper seem the right way to go. Schutt will enjoy bowling here more than CCI. Asha gives them a wrist-spin option and Kasat gives a batting cushion if she can finally deliver on her evident promise.
DC XI: Meg Lanning(c), Shafali Verma, Alice Capsey, Jemimah Rodrigues, Marizanne Kapp, Taniya Bhatia(w), Jess Jonassen, Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Tara Norris
RCB XI: Smriti Mandhana(c), Sophie Devine, Ellyse Perry, Disha Kasat, Heather Knight, Richa Ghosh(w), Shreyanka Patil, Megan Schutt, Asha Shobana, Renuka Thakur Singh, Preeti Bose
Team news: DC bring back Alice Capsey and Arundhati Reddy for Laura Harris and Minnu Mani. RCB have one forced change with Kanika Ahuja unwell. There are apparently other changes too, I didn’t quite get that.
TOSS: Meg Lanning wins the toss and opts to bowl first.
Toss coming up, worth noting that this is the first match of the tournament that RCB are playing at DY Patil.
6.55 pm: As Delhi Capitals return to action, a piece on Shafali Verma’s innings vs GG
6.50 pm: Ellyse Perry on Smriti Mandhana’s captaincy: “She is an incredible player, we all know that. I think she is a great captain too, she just needs a chance to find her feet in the tournament”
Read more here:
Smriti Mandhana takes blame for batting woes, Ellyse Perry backs her to come good
6.45 pm: As we are at the halfway stage of the tournament, a quick piece looking back at the week that has been.
06.40 pm Hello and welcome to the live coverage of Women’s Premier League. It’s match No 11 and it is Delhi Capitals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore.
RCB... ah, the enigma that is RCB. Before the tournament started, not many would have pegged the squad led by Smriti Mandhana to be winless after four matches. At least not us, here. But certainly, things have not panned out they’d like. Mathematically they are still alive in the tournament but it is going to be a difficult ask to finish top three with that Net Run Rate from here on. What they need for starters is a win and Meg Lanning’s Delhi Capitals are not going to make it any easier.
This is the first return match of the tournament. When they met earlier, DC posted a 200-plus score and Tara Norris went on to pick five wickets.
WPL 2023, RCB vs DC blog: Shafali, Lanning, Norris star as Delhi Capitals win by 60 runs
Photos / screenshots in the blog courtesy: Sportzpics / wplt20.com and JioCinema