DC vs RCB Final: What happened in yesterday's match at WPL 2024?
The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) beat the Delhi Capitals (DC) by eight wickets in yesterday's WPL 2024 final at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. With the triumph, RCB became the second team to win the WPL trophy. The Mumbai Indians won the inaugural edition last year.
Batting first after winning the toss, DC crumbled from a solid 64-0 to 113 all-out. Sophie Molineux claimed three wickets in one over, while Shreyanka Patil finished with 4-12 and Asha Sobhana 2-14. RCB got home in 19.3 overs, with captain Smriti Mandhana, Sophie Devine and Ellyse Perry contributing 30s.
Batting first, it seemed business as usual for the Delhi openers as they reached 64-0 after seven overs. Shafali Verma and Meg Lanning took on Renuka Singh in the fourth over, clobbering her for 19 runs, as DC eased their way to 61-0 at the end of the powerplay.
The eighth over bowled by Molineux, though, turned the game on its head. Shafali (44 off 27) fell to the slog sweep, caught at deep midwicket. Jemimah Rodrigues (0) was cleaned up when she completely missed her sweep. Alice Capsey (0) attempted a horrible paddle stroke, exposing her stumps, and was knocked over.
From 64-0, the Delhi Capitals crumbled to 64-3 and never recovered. Shreyanka dismissed Lanning for 23 with a ball that spun back sharply, catching the DC captain on the back foot.
They lost two more big wickets in the 14th over to slip to 81-6. Marizanne Kapp (8) sliced a catch off Sobhana to long-on, while Jess Jonassen (3) also perished attempting a big one, hitting one straight up in the air.
The procession of wickets continued, with Minnu Mani (5) getting trapped lbw by Shreyanka when she tried to paddle a length ball and missing it completely.
Radha Yadav (12) was run out by a direct hit from Molineux following a complete lack of communication with Arundhati Reddy. Shreyanka dismissed Reddy for 10 and Taniya Bhatia for a duck in the 19th over as DC were all out for 113.
Experienced hands guide RCB in title-clinching chase
For the Delhi Capitals to have any chance of winning the WPL 2024 final, they needed to pick early wickets. However, RCB captain Smriti Mandhana and Sophie Devine added 49 for the first wicket in eight overs to ease nerves in the chasing camp.
The partnership was broken when Devine (32) was trapped lbw by Shikha Pandey when she tried to hit one across the line. Mandhana and Perry added 33 for the second wicket before the former top-edged a tossed-up delivery from Mani and was caught for 31.
Perry (35* off 37) and Richa Ghosh (17*), though, took RCB past the finish line. Ghosh buried the ghost of her run-out the last time the two sides met by hitting the winning runs. She lofted Reddy for a four over extra cover to kick off celebrations in the Bangalore camp.
Who won Player of the Match in yesterday's DC vs RCB WPL 2024 final?
Molineux was brilliant with the ball for Bangalore, claiming three wickets in one over. Shreyanka impressed yet again, picking up four wickets. In the chase, Mandhana, Devine and Perry made handy contributions.
For DC, Shafali top-scored with 44, while Pandey was economical with 1-11 from four overs. Left-arm spinner Molineux, though, was named the Player of the Match for her brilliant bowling effort.