(Cricket news) In Bengaluru on Sunday, Meg Lanning’s half-century and another outstanding bowling performance by Jess Jonassen vaulted Delhi Capitals to the top of the WPL standings and kept Gujarat Giants without a victory.
The Giants, who had won the toss and chosen to bowl instead, were hapless in the field, blowing five opportunities in an attempt to secure their first victory of the year. Despite Meghna Singh’s remarkable four-wicket haul, Lanning was one of those, and she made them pay with a 41-ball fifty-five. Lanning’s innings saw her surpass 9,000 T20 runs, which was the highlight for the Capitals, who saw Alice Capsey start and Annabel Sutherland make a stylish 20 from 12 cameo.
After Ashleigh Gardner threatened with a 31-ball 40, the Giants were left without a win since their sixth WPL 2023 encounter. Jonassen followed up her 3 for 21 against RCB on Thursday with 3 for 22. For the Capitals, Radha Yadav claimed a crucial 3 for 20, ensuring the outcome was certain.
Jonassen gets the job done:
After seven Twenty20 Internationals for India, Titas Sadhu made her WPL debut. Opening the bowling in Marizanne Kapp’s absence, she began with a maiden as the Capitals launched their 163 for 8 defense. With her third delivery, Shikha Pandey struck for a three-ball duck. The ball was an absolute gem that swung in late, squeezing between Laura Wolvaardt’s bat and pad to crash into the top of leg stump. After striking Beth Mooney on the pad in line with the middle stump, Pandey had another opportunity, but the Capitals foolishly decided not to review the on-field reprieve.
After Sadhu’s second over, Phoebe Litchfield managed to get 11 runs for herself. The Giants were then cruising in the fourth over after Pandey hit three fours in four balls to Mooney and Litchfield. The Giants had to attempt to rebuild as Jonassen entered the attack and pinned Mooney on the front pad next to the stumps. But Litchfield spooned one direct to mid-off, giving Jonassen another goal, and the momentum flipped decisively in the Capitals’ favor.
At deep midwicket, Radha caught a ball off Veda Krishnamurthy for six, but the Giants remained well behind at the end of the powerplay, having only managed 41 for 3. They had already faced 25 dot balls after seven overs. After hitting a 78-meter six and four off Arundhati Reddy, Gardner let loose, leaving the Giants needing 92 more runs at the midway mark of the innings. With the Giants requiring 60 runs from six overs, Jonassen came back to attack. She virtually put an end to their chances by placing the ball on a length outside off-stump as Gardner moved forward, swung, and missed. Gardner was too far down the track and the Giants were too far behind when Taniya Bhatia whipped off the bails.
Meghna shines big-time for Giants:
Shafali Verma showed perfect timing when she hit the opening ball she faced, a shot from Tanuja Kanwar, through square leg for four. Two balls later, she lofted a six back over the bowler’s head. Even worse for the Giants, at the end of the over, Kanwar lost a return catch off Shafali, costing them 12 runs right then and there, plus who knew how many more. As it happened, Shafali only managed to add three more before Meghna easily caught her at square leg by Wolvaardt.
Lanning and Capsey found a groove, taking the Capitals to 51 for 1 at the end of the powerplay. However, Meghna struck once more, taking out the vital wicket of Capsey, who had come into the game with scores of 46 and 75. Meghna was not done yet, having ended Capsey’s most recent innings on 27 with a tempter outside off stump and a slice to Kanwar at backward point.
Lanning lifts her side:
That caused the Capitals to retreat inside themselves as 19 deliveries arrived and exited without warning. After breaking that by hammering rookie Tarannum Pathan over long-off for a maximum, Lanning appeared occupied once more. When Lanning spooned a Mannat Kashyap ball straight to mid-off, Kathryn Bryce missed a sitter, and she should have been out for thirty. Lanning was within one clean hit of reaching fifty after Gardner gave up eleven runs in her first over and thirteen in her second. Just inside the rope at deep midwicket, she arrived with a forceful jab to the right of midwicket that defied Gardner’s best attempts to stop it.
The next ball produced another four over cover, but this time, it was D Hemalatha who moved to her left and held on at cover point, stopping the Capitals captain in her tracks after her second half-century of the season, much to Meghna’s delight and Lanning’s agony.Jemimah Rodrigues struggled to 7 off 10 balls before Pathan at short third had Mannat Kashyap remove her, but the Capitals were still a threat with Sutherland (in for Marizanne Kapp) at the crease and Jonassen at the crease.
Sutherland struck a huge 76-meter six off Bryce, and two balls later, Hemalatha released Jonassen after the ball struck her in the forehead at deep midwicket, necessitating the use of a concussion substitution. At deep square leg, Jonassen successfully hit a Gardner full toss over the fence, but Mooney caught him behind the following ball.
After bowling a superb 17th over, Gardner caught Sutherland at deep midwicket, rewarding Kanwar with the wicket. Meghna skillfully caught a ball at long-on to dismiss Arundhati Reddy and give Gardner her second; the bowler’s relief was evident from the expression on her face. Meghna became the first Indian fast bowler to record a four-for in the WPL when she caught Radha leg before wicket with the final delivery of the innings, after Kashyap’s one-ball bomb at extra cover.
