Women’s Premier League: India
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YEAR-WISE
2024
Royal Challengers Bangalore win
Hindol Basu, March 18, 2024: The Times of India
New Delhi: What the men haven’t been able to do, the women have done! And done with great poise.
Finalists in the 2009, 2011 and 2016 Indian Premier League, the Royal Challengers Bangalore men couldn’t clinch the ultimate prize. The RCB women did it in their first Women’s Premier League (WPL) final itself. As Richa Ghosh smashed a length ball from Arundhati Reddy over extra cover for a four, RCB not only won its maiden WPL title but also their first-ever silverware in any competition.
As the captain of the side, Smriti Mandhana accomplished what her male counterparts like Anil Kumble (2009 IPL captain), Daniel Vettori (2011 IPL captain) and Virat Kohli (2016 IPL captain) couldn’t do – and that’s to lift the winners’ trophy.
It was a convincing and professional effort from the girls in red and black, emerging victorious by eight wickets against Delhi Capitals – the team dubbed to be the favourites before the final.
The chase of a modest 114 went smooth for RCB as their top 3, Smriti Mandhana (31 off 39b; 3x4), Sophie Devine (32 off 27b; 5x4, 1x6) and Ellyse Perry (35 off 37b; 4x4) completed the formalities with comfort.
The DC innings could easily be divided into two halves – the Powerplay overs and the overs post that. While Shafali Verma (44 off 27b; 2x4, 3x6) was at her destructive best in the first six, RCB’s spinners hogged all the limelight later.
RCB’s four-pronged spin attack comprising Shreyanka Patil (4/12), Sophie Molineux (3/20), Asha Sobhana (2/14) and Georgia Wareham (0/16) spun a web around the Delhi batters and they crumbled like a pack of cards. It was a horror show on the part of DC batters as the 28,000-strong crowd at the Arun Jaitley Stadium were left disappointed.
The start, however, was to the liking of the crowd as Shafali and Meg Lanning (23 off 23b; 3x4) started hitting fours and sixes from the get-go.
Shafali landed the first blow in the Powerplay with a massive six over long on off Molineux’s left-arm spin. The ball was in the arc of Shafali’s bat swing, and it went out of the park as a result.
The duo of Shafali and Lanning were particularly severe on the medium-pace of Renuka Singh. Renuka didn’t look in rhythm and was mostly floating it up to the two batters. In the fourth over, Shafali planted her front foot and hit it over Renuka’s head for another maximum. Lanning too joined in on the fun and smashed the medium-pacer for back-to-back boundaries. The over produced 19 runs for DC, as Renuka gave away 28 runs in her two-over spell in the Powerplay.
Shafali kept the charge on and gave Perry the same treatment, clobbering another one down the ground for a 75m six. It wasn’t just brute force, Shafali also brought some deft touch to her game when she picked the gap between backward point and short third with a well-timed shot.
At the end of the Powerplay, DC were motoring along at 61/0. However, Molineux turned the match on its head with three big wickets in the 8th over. First she had Shafali holing out to deep midwicket where Wareham held onto a well-judged catch. A ball later, Jemimah Rodrigues played a horrible swipe and the ball crashed into the middle stump. If Jemimah’s shot was bad, the next batter, Alice Capsey, played a terrible one. She walked across the stumps, and tried to scoop one. The ball went past the bat and hit the stumps.
Brief Scores: Delhi Capitals 113 in 18.3 overs (Shefali Verma 44, Meg Lanning 23, Shreyanka Patil 4/12) lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore 115/2 in 19.3 overs (Smriti Mandhana 31, Sophie Devine 32, Ellyse Perry 35*)
Players of note
Compiled by Hindol Basu, March 19, 2024: The Times of India
Shafali Verma (DC)
Inns: 9, Runs: 309, Avg: 38.62, Best: 71, SR: 156.85, 50s: 3 The 20-year-old provided rousing starts, including in the final. Scored three swashbuckling fifties in the league phase too. A 37-ball 71 against Gujarat stands out.
Smriti Mandhana (RCB) © Inns: 10, Runs: 300, Avg: 30.00, Best: 80, SR: 133.92, 50s: 2 Besides the solid starts she gave, Smriti was most impressive with her captaincy and on-field strategies. Her bowling changes and use of her three spinners stood out.
Meg Lanning (DC) Inns: 9, Runs: 331, Avg: 36.77, Best: 60, SR: 123.04, 50s: 4 The ‘Megastar’ was her usual self, scoring runs and being the backbone of the batting.
Ellyse Perry (RCB) Inns: 9, Runs: 347, Avg: 69.4, Best: 66, SR: 125.72, 50s: 2, Wickets: 7, ER: 6.81 Topped the run-scoring charts and bailed RCB out of trouble on more than one occasion. The 66 in the Eliminator against MI on a sluggish pitch was memorable. Now, she also boasts the best bowling figures in WPL — 6/15 in a league match versus MI.
Harmanpreet Kaur (MI) Inns: 7, Runs: 268, Avg: 53.6, Best: 95*, SR: 141.05, 50s: 2 Her 95* against Gujarat fashioned an improbable win as the team chased down 91 in the last six overs.
Deepti Sharma (UPW) Inns: 8, Runs: 295, Avg: 98.33, Best: 88*, SR: 136.57, 50s: 3, Wickets: 10, ER: 7.23 The ‘player of the tournament’ nearly pulled UPW into the Eliminator with several impactful performances.
Richa Ghosh (RCB) (wk) Inns: 9, Runs: 257, Avg: 42.83, Best: 62, SR: 141.98, 50s: 2 Was super sleek behind the stumps and in front of it, playing some crucial knocks in the knockout phase. The silent force behind RCB’s win.
Sophie Molineux (RCB) Inns: 10, Wkts: 12, Best: 3/20, Avg: 23.16, ER: 7.31, SR: 19.00 Turned the final on its head with a three-wicket over. The go-to spinner for RCB in the Powerplay and at the death.
Marizanne Kapp (DC) Inns: 7, Wkts: 11, Best: 3/5, Avg: 16.00, ER: 6.28, SR: 15.27 Swung the new ball both ways at decent pace, troubling all top-order batters. Played a couple of pivotal knocks in the middle.
Shreyanka Patil (RCB) Inns: 8, Wkts: 13, Best: 4/12, Avg: 12.07, ER: 7.30, SR: 9.92 The off-spinner bagged the Purple Cap. Picked four wickets in the final, bowling with flight and guile.
Asha Sobhana (RCB) Inns: 10, Wkts: 12, Best: 5/22, Avg: 15.41, ER: 7.11, SR: 13.00 Finished second to Shreyanka in the wicket-taking charts. Asha was a delight to watch, mixing her leg-spin and googlies with aplomb. Most batters found it difficult to read her from the hand and perished as a result.
12th player Amelia Kerr (MI) Inns: 9, Runs: 215, Avg: 35.83, Best: 40*, Strike Rate: 129.51, Wickets: 7 Excelled with both bat and ball. Played some matchwinning knocks that took MI past the victory mark on more than one occasion.
