Our DC girls had yet another fantastic run in the Women’s Premier League, which ended with a heartbreaking loss in the final. The performance in that game will not define the kind of cricket that this bunch of women have played right through the competition.
Comeback from the loss in the season opener
Despite being on top of the game for most of the time during the match against the Mumbai Indians, the last ball eventually decided the fate of the game. With five runs needed off the last ball, S. Sajana smashed Alice Capsey for a six to hand us a defeat. Capsey herself had been a star of the match until then, having scored a brilliant 75 off 53 balls and also picking up crucial wickets of Pooja Vastrakar and Harmanpreet Kaur leading into that last-ball six.
Usual business resumes
After that initial hiccup, our DC girls didn’t set a foot wrong for the next few matches, with contributions coming from everyone from time to time. Our second game saw UP Warriorz being tantalized by Marizanne Kapp’s 3/5 before Radha Yadav cleaned up their middle order with her 4/20. The run chase of 120 was a walk in the park as fifties from skipper Meg Lanning and her opening partner Shafali Verma saw us seal the deal.
In the next two matches, we clinched back-to-back 25-run wins against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Giants, respectively, both times batting first. Once again, there were all-round contributions from everyone in the unit. After those three wins, we reached our home, DIlli, and for the first-ever time, we played on our home turf at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, also known as Qila Kotla.
We started our run at home with a 29-run win against the Mumbai Indians. Jemimah Rodrigues was on song & smashed 69 off 33 balls to get us a huge total. Our next game was a bit of a disappointment as we let one slip through our fingers against the UP Warriorz. Chasing a total of just 139, we lost six wickets in the final two overs to lose the game by a run.
This result made our return fixture against RCB a crucial one. Batting first, once again, our batters, especially the middle order, Jemimah and Alice, came together to forge a match-winning stand. A solid batting performance from the visiting team took the match down to the wire yet again, but we prevailed by getting a last-ball one-run victory and also qualified for the next round.
Our last league match vs. Gujarat Giants saw us get a comfortable victory and also got us on top of the table for the second consecutive season. The all-round performance was on the back of a brilliant batting display from Shafali and some quality bowling from the entire unit.
Despite our exceptional run of form, the final chapter didn’t go our way as RCB put up a startling show to hand us a defeat in the all-important clash. There was a glimmer of hope but nothing that could be banked upon.
Positives & Highlights from WPL 2023
- The support of the DC Toli
Having played our first-ever round of matches at the Qila Kotla in the WPL, our fans, also known as the DC Toli, showed us heart-warming support throughout the second leg. We always saw good attendance from the fans, something that peaked in the final, with around 30,000 supporters in the stadium for the summit clash. We hope to get the same love and adoration for the upcoming IPL season and the WPL next year.
- Opening partnership of Shafali Verma & Meg Lanning
The dynamite duo, Shafali and skipper Meg, are two sides of the same coin but one thing that brings them together is their hunger to score runs. The opening pair were once again a vital cog in our wheel, as they kept giving us fiery starts and, at times, even delivering a big one.
Meg ended the tournament as the second-highest run-getter with 331 runs at 36.78 with four fifties, the most by a player this season. Shafali finished just behind Meg with 308 runs at a strike rate of 157 and 20 sixes, ten more than anyone in the league.
- Alice & Jemi shine through
The young and gun batters, Alice Capsey and Jemimah Rodrigues, batting at no. 3 or no. 4, often switching places, had some great outings too. Their consistency in scoring for the team was one of the reasons why we could capitalise on the fiery starts given by our opening pair.
Jemimah had a high strike rate of 154 for her 235 runs, while Alice chipped in with 230 runs and four wickets. She also had the best economy in the tournament at 6.12.
- A strong bowling core
Captain Lanning had the luxury of having Marizanne Kapp and Shikha Pandey, both quality pacers, at her disposal during this tournament. The experienced duo didn’t disappoint at all with timely performances. Kapp took 11 wickets in seven matches, while Pandey picked 9 wickets in as many games. The South African also added 79 runs against her name. Arundhati Reddy also ended with 8 wickets in nine games, giving her support right through the season.
As the pace-bowling department shined, so did the spin-bowling. Radha Yadav showed her class this season, getting 10 scalps in the nine matches. She would often reduce the run rate in the middle overs with her economic spells. She had great support from Jess Jonassen, who herself picked up 11 scalps in the seven games, apart from her batting exploits.
- Special collaboration on Women’s Day
On March 8th, we created history in the WPL by collaborating with our fellow team, UP Warriorz for International Women’s Day. It was a unique matchday experience for us under the campaign #SheBelievesWeBelieve. The attempt was to promote women in sports that inspire millions to follow their dreams. We had a special guest, Kareena Kapoor Khan, as the toss representative, along with Vineeta Singh, Mary Kom, Faye D'Souza, and Masaba Gupta, who were also present to back both teams.
What’s next?
It's time for us now to sit and assess the season while taking positives and trying to improve our game for the next season of the Women's Premier League. The immediate focus shift will happen as the DC Men’s team is all set to open their campaign of the Indian Premier League 2024 on March 23 against the Punjab Kings in Chandigarh.
