(Cricket News) The Delhi Capitals’ home stretch has gotten off to the best possible start. Meg Lanning and Jemimah Rodrigues’ half-centuries helped them easily defeat the Mumbai Indians, and all of their bowlers had a great evening out afterwards. With eight points and a good net run rate, they are now atop the standings and becoming harder to follow.

There were several memorable moments in the game, including mishandled receptions, amazing wrist work, deft cuts, a world record being broken, and a veteran’s incredible swing. However, the outcome was largely one-way traffic, leaving Mumbai to rapidly recover following a humiliating loss.

In the third over, there was a thunderous thud into Lanning’s pad. Ismail had her hands on her head, while the umpire remained still. But little did Shabnim Ismail realize that she had broken the record for the fastest delivery in women’s cricket history. It registered at 132.1 kph. That was the same Ismail who, four days earlier in Bengaluru, was blasting away, although with a slight limp.

When Shafali Verma mishandled a cross-batted swat to mid-on, Ismail ought to have got her in the same over, but Saika Ishaque took advantage of the situation. Ismail was furious. However, she was about to suffer even more when Shafali struck her with back-to-back sixes in the subsequent over; the shovel down the ground with his bottom hand seemed like a blow to the body.

But when she had Shafali nick off the next ball, Ismail got the last laugh. Ismail growled and sent Shafali off with a mouthful. With a 56 for 1 powerplay, the Capitals snapped a precarious opening stand.

Lanning hit a full-length ball that Nat Sciver-Brunt served early in her inning. Lanning maintained her form as the ball soared past the long-on boundary and landed on the bleachers. It was evident how much she relished it. We had not yet seen Lanning’s avatar in WPL 2024, but it conveyed her emotions.

Her shot range improved after the first six. She executed the signature cuts flawlessly, even on deliveries that hardly bounced, demonstrating her control and skill at handling the low bounce. Overall, she appeared to relish facing the spinners.

In the 12th over, she took legspinner Amelia Kerr for a run of 4, 6, and 4. She was very harsh on her. Before long, she used her trademark cut to score her third half-century of the year off of 36 balls. She was caught wonderfully by Kerr at deep midwicket after hitting a pull.

Rodrigues was on eight off eight when Lanning was substituted out. Additionally, she was on 13 off 14 going into the final five overs. She then turned on a switch. When she finally decided it was time to leave, she used a straightforward mantra to defeat the bowlers. She positioned herself outside, hunched down, and waited for her body to respond.

Rodrigues cleanly swung Ismail into the midwicket barrier as she went slow and full outside off. Rodrigues scythed her over point as she went wide yorker. Additionally, Rodrigues assisted Pooja Vastrakar in reaching the fine leg boundary after her short bowl.

She reached every part of the field as she sliced and lofted Sciver-Brunt for 17 off the penultimate over, indicating that there was more to come. After failing to score early in her innings, Rodrigues made an incredible acceleration in the final five overs, scoring 69 not out off 33 balls.

Yastika Bhatia was bowled by Marizanne Kapp in the first over as she skidded to be bowled. In the second, Sciver-Brunt was surrounded by a Shikha Pandey inswinger and was eventually castled. It was almost over for Mumbai when Harmanpreet Kaur fell in the fourth, giving him the advantage to put an end to Kapp.

From then on, they simply kept crashing into wicket after wicket, with only Amanjot Kaur and S Sajana mustering some resistance with scores of 42 and 24 not out, respectively, to lessen the margin of defeat that leaves Mumbai with three league games left and somewhat vulnerable.

Having taken eight wickets to head the table, Jess Jonassen, who fought her way into the starting XI three games ago, appears to have cemented herself as one of the all-rounders.

See more: Shabnim Ismail Delivers Fastest Ball in Women’s Cricket History.