Delhi suffer third consecutive final defeat as Mumbai clinches victory by eight runs.
The Mumbai Indians secured their second Women’s Premier League (WPL) title with an eight-run victory over the Delhi Capitals, who faced their third straight loss in a final.
Delhi, who have been present in all three finals of the young tournament, might have felt confident after restricting Mumbai to 149-7 in the first innings at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday.
Captain and Indian international Harmanpreet Kaur’s resilient 66 held Mumbai’s innings together, keeping alive their hopes of fending off the team they defeated in the inaugural 2023 final.
Delhi’s bowling was disciplined, with South African Marizanne Kapp leading the charge with figures of 2-11.
Despite some spirited batting performances in the chase, including a late surge from Kapp, Mumbai’s controlled bowling attack – spearheaded by England’s Nat Sciver-Brunt, who took 3-30 – proved too much for Delhi to overcome.
After winning the toss and opting to field first, Delhi’s decision seemed justified early on when West Indies opener Hayley Matthews was bowled for just three by Kapp.
The right-arm seamer opened the bowling and completed her four overs straight, also dismissing Mumbai’s other opener, Yastika Bhatia, in her third over.
Sciver-Brunt and Kaur then stabilized Mumbai’s innings with an 89-run partnership for the third wicket, reached in just 10 overs.
Sciver-Brunt looked set for a bigger score when she smashed a sweep shot off Shree Charani on 30, but the well-timed stroke found Minnu Mani at square leg, ending her innings.
Kaur’s 66, the highest score of the final, anchored the innings, but she lacked consistent support from her teammates. The next biggest partnership was an unbeaten 17-run stand for the eighth wicket.
Delhi’s chase began disastrously, with captain Meg Lanning and opening partner Shafali Verma both dismissed within the first three overs.
Jess Jonassen fell in the first over after the powerplay, followed by Annabel Sutherland in the eighth, leaving Delhi staring at another WPL final defeat.
With the captain gone, vice-captain Jemimah Rodrigues stepped up to the occasion.
Rodrigues, who had praised her captain’s leadership ahead of the final, played a dynamic innings, boasting the highest strike rate in the match for anyone facing more than seven deliveries, giving Delhi a glimmer of hope.
She hit back-to-back boundaries to start the 11th over, racing to 30, but Amelia Kerr struck back with a caught-and-bowled to remove the Delhi number four, who closed her bat face too early in search of a single.
Kapp, who had shone with the ball, appeared to offer Delhi one last chance as she and Sarah Bryce began a promising partnership. However, a mix-up and hesitation by Bryce led to her being comfortably run out.
Their 18-run stand was the third-highest partnership of the innings, but with the best being just 22, Delhi lacked the foundation needed to mount a successful chase.
Kapp continued her lone battle to end Delhi’s losing streak in finals, and when Kerr carried a catch over the boundary in the 16th over, it seemed the tide might be turning.
However, when the all-rounder was caught by Matthews at long-on for 40, the game was all but over.
Sciver-Brunt, who took Kapp’s wicket, bowled Shikha Pandey the very next ball, and Delhi’s chase quickly collapsed.
Celebrations for Mumbai will continue long into the night, but for Delhi, the pain of a third consecutive final defeat lingers on.
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