NEW DELHI: Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Delhi Capitals in the final of the 2024 Women’s Premier League to break their 16-year-long trophy drought. RCB defeated DC by eight wickets to lift the WPL trophy at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday, March 17.
RCB made easy work of their 114-run chase against DC to lift their maiden WPL title. A wonderful first innings performance from RCB’s spin-attack helped them clinch their first-ever trophy as a franchise.
Sophie Molinuex and Shreyanka Patil broke DC’s back with some spell-binding display of spin bowling in New Delhi. With DC cruising at 64 for no loss, Molinuex came into the attack and turned the game on its head, claiming three wickets in an over.
She ran through DC’s top order, getting rid of the dangerous Shafali Varma, the in-form Jemmimah Rodrigues and the hard-hitting Alice Capsey all in one over. Her spell, aided by Shreyanka’s four-wicket haul, helped RCB bowl out DC for just 113 runs in the final.
Chasing the modest total, Smriti Mandhana, Sophie Devine and Ellyse Perry chipped in with significant contributions to guide RCB to a comfortable victory in New Delhi.
Shreyanka edged Molinuex and Asha Sobhana to win the Purple Cap, ending the tournament with 13 wickets in eight matches. Meanwhile, Perry finished as the Orange Cap winner, beating Meg Lanning to the prize.
WPL 2024 FINAL: AS IT HAPPENED
DC skipper Lanning won the toss for her side and opted to bat first in the final. Lanning and Shafali got DC off to a flying start, posting the joint-highest powerplay score in WPL 2024.
Shafali was going all guns blazing and was looking set to become the first Indian to score a half-century in a WPL final. She was particularly severe on Renuka Singh, smashing her for 19 runs in an over. However, her 44-run blitzkrieg from 27 balls, replete with two boundaries and three awe-inspiring sixes, was brought to a standstill by Molineux.
MOLINUEX TURNS THE GAME’S TIDE
Molineux’s over proved to be a game-changer, as she dismissed Shafali, followed by Jemmimah and Capsey, triggering a monumental collapse of the Capitals. Starting the eighth over at 64 for no loss, the Capitals found themselves staggering at 65 for 3 by the end of the over.
Shreyanka joined in the wicket-taking party for RCB, claiming the prized scalp of Lanning in the 11th over, thus pushing DC into further disarray at 74 for 4. The chaos continued as Asha dismissed veteran players Marizzane Kapp and Jess Jonassen, leaving DC tottering at 81 for 6.
SHREYANKA CLEANS UP THE TAIL
Molineux added further misery to the Capital’s innings by running out Radha Yadav, thus reducing DC to 87 for 7. The final ray of hope emerged in the form of Minnu Mani and Arundhati Roy, who managed to push DC past the 100-run mark. However, their efforts were short-lived as Shreyanka claimed her second wicket of the day in the form of Mani.
Ending DC’s innings at 113, Shreyanka emerged as the key bowler for RCB, picking up four wickets and conceding a mere 12 runs in 3.3 overs, while Molinuex chipped in with three crucial wickets.
In the second innings, Mandhana and Sophie Divine stitched a steady 49-run stand for the opening wicket. Devine was the first to fall, being caught LBW by Shikha Pandey in the ninth over, after scoring a 27-ball 32.
PERRY FINISHES IT OFF
Perry, RCB’s hero from the semi-finals, steadied the innings and provided support to Mandhana. However, because of the cautious approach adopted by both batters, the run-rate started to climb up.
With 12 overs gone, RCB needed 53 runs to win off 48 deliveries. Lanning used Shikha very well and exhausted all her overs early. She ended her spell, having claimed Devine’s wicket while leaking just 11 runs in four overs.
