WPL 2024 Highlights: 3 moments that generated buzz among fans in DC vs RCB final ft. Sophie Molineux
The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) franchise finally ended their trophy drought after 16 long years as they beat the Delhi Capitals (DC) by eight wickets to claim the WPL 2024 crown in Delhi on Sunday, March 17.
The game began incredibly well for Meg Lanning and Co. where the skipper and Shafali Verma added 64 runs for the opening stand. However, DC suffered a remarkable collapse that saw them lose their 10 wickets for just 49 more runs.
The home team tried their best to squeeze RCB's chase and take it as deep as possible, but the 114-run target wasn't enough to defend as Richa Ghosh hit the winning runs for the Royal Challengers.
On that note, let's take a look at three moments from the WPL 2024 final that grabbed fans' attention on social media:
#1 Sophie Molineux's dramatic over
RCB seemed to be staring down the barrel of a mammoth total from DC with the way Shafali Verma began her innings. She smashed bowlers to all parts of the ground and the Royal Challengers needed a breakthrough to get back into the game.
Smriti Mandhana turned to Australian left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux, who delivered an over that changed the complexion of the game. She dismissed the dangerous Shafali and then also went on to clean up Jemimah Rodrigues and Alice Capsey on back-to-back deliveries. The DC camp was visibly in shock and they just couldn't recover from that horrific over.
#2 Radha Yadav's run-out
DC were 79/9 in the WPL 2023 final when Radha Yadav and Shikha Pandey got together and took them to a fighting total of 131/9. A similar effort on Sunday could have had a competitive total for the Capitals, given how difficult it was to get the spinners away on that pitch.
Radha began her innings well and tried to consolidate it alongside Arundhati Reddy. However, just when Delhi fans might have hoped for a rearguard effort from their lower order, it was Molineux once again who inflicted damage.
Arundhati worked a ball towards the point region and had no intention to steal in a quick single. However, non-striker Radha had set off already and had to return from almost halfway.
Molineux had a direct hit at the non-striker's end and the batter was well short of her crease. The non-striker was distraught as she looked to Arundhati before making her way back. That effectively ended DC's hopes of reaching that 130-run mark. Molineux affected two crucial moments and deservedly won the Player of the Match.
#3 RCB finally ending their jinx
DC skipper Meg Lanning tried her best to apply the squeeze in the second innings and it also worked to an extent as the game went right down to the last over. However, RCB needed just five runs to win and still had the experienced Ellyse Perry at the crease.
With three runs needed from four balls, Richa Ghosh finished the game with a boundary over the cover region. The wicketkeeper had fallen agonizingly short of winning her previous encounter against DC. However, this time she remained unbeaten with Perry and helped RCB win their first title.