Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals in Final, Crowned Champions of Maiden WPL

Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals by 7 wickets in the final.

(Photo: BCCI)

Nat Sciver-Brunt struck a superb half-century to capitalise on a good show by their disciplined bowlers as Mumbai Indians defeated Delhi Capitals by seven wickets to emerge champions of the inaugural Women's Premier League (WPL) at the Brabourne stadium on Sunday.

Sciver-Brunt struck 60 not out off 55 deliveries, hitting seven boundaries and raising 72 runs for the third wicket with captain Harmanpreet Kaur (37) and 39 for the unbeaten fourth wicket partnership with Amelia Kerr (14 not out) to guide them to 134/3 in 19.3 overs after their bowlers Issy Wong, Hayley Matthew and Amelia Kerr shared eight wickets between them as Delhi Capitals were restricted to 131/9 in 20 overs.

Delhi Capitals, who had topped the table for a direct berth into the final, had opted to bat first on winning the toss but could manage only 131/9 in 20 overs, that too because of an unbeaten 52 runs partnership for the 9th wicket between Shikha Pandey (27 not out) and Radha Yadav (27), who hammered 36 runs off the last two overs of their innings.

Mumbai Indians too got off to a poor start as they lost both their openers Hayley Matthews (13) and Yastika Bhatia (4) with only 23 runs on the board.

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Nat Sciver-Brunt came together to raise 72 runs off 75 balls for the third wicket, building the innings with patience and caution, and keeping alive Mumbai Indians' hopes.

With Mumbai Indians needing 37 runs off 23 balls, Harmanpreet went for a risky single and was out by yards as Shikha Pandey sent an accurate throw to bowler Alice Capsey, as they slumped to 95/3. Sciver-Brunt found a willing partner in Amelia Kerr as they took Mumbai past the 100-run mark.

With 21 needed off the last two overs, Sciner-Brunt struck a boundary off Jonassen to complete her half-century off 52 balls.

She took a single off the next ball and Amelia Kerr blasted two boundaries off successive deliveries and took a single from the last delivery as Mumbai went into the final over needing five runs from six deliveries. Alice Capsey conceded one run off the first delivery and then Sciver-Brunt struck a brace off the next ball and paddled the third delivery for a boundary to seal victory for Mumbai Indians.

Sciver-Brunt was declared Player of the Match for her brilliant innings. She was also adjudged Player of the Match for her unbeaten 72 in the Eliminator against UP Warriorz.

On Sunday, she held the Mumbai Indians innings together once again and made all the difference for the first champions of the WPL.

Harmanpreet Kaur of Mumbai Indians with the winners trophy after the final of the 2023 Women’s Premier League.

(Photo: BCCI)

Earlier, an unbeaten 52 run partnership for the last wicket between Shikha Pandey (27 not out) and Radha Yadav (27 not out) helped Delhi Capitals recover from precarious 79/9 to post a decent 131/9 after Meg Lanning won the toss and elected to bat first.

Pandey and Yadav came together just when Delhi were struggling to cross the hundred-100 mark in the summit clash played in front of a partisan full-house at the Brabourne Stadium, and helped their team reach a target they could attempt to defend.

The Delhi Capitals batters looked in a hurry, hoping to put up a big score and did not give themselves time to settle down. Their top-order batters gifted their wickets, as three of them got out to full-tosses while skipper Meg Lanning (35) was run out after a horrendous mix-up with Jess Jonassen.

Issey Wong (3-42), Hayley Matthew (3-5) and Amelia Kerr (2-19) shared the spoils as Mumbai Indians set themselves up for a modest chase.

They could have had to chase fewer runs but for some late order hitting by Shikha and Radha, who hammered Wong for 20 runs in the 19th over with Pandey slamming a six-- a brilliant shot from outside off, and two fours while Yadav helping herself to a four.

Radha Yadav blasted two sixes off the last two deliveries bowled by Nat Sciver-Brunt as she remained undefeated on 27 (12 balls, 2x4, 2x6) while Shikha Pandey was not out on 27 off 17 balls with three boundaries and one six.

After a quiet opening over by Nat Sciver-Brunt that cost two runs, Delhi Capitals, who elected to bat first, exploded into action with Shafali Verma hitting a six and four from successive deliveries by Issy Wong, who claimed a hat-trick in the Eliminator against Up Warriorz, in the second over.

But Wong had the last laugh as she got the India opener to fend off a highball that the batters contested should be called a no-ball. The umpires consulted the TV umpire and Verma was declared out, caught by Amelia Kerr, who easily pouched a dolly that ballooned straight up. Verma scored 11 runs from four deliveries.

Alice Capsey (0) lasted only two balls, hitting a full toss to Amanjot Kaur at cover, another decision that went to the TV umpire and ruled in favour of the fielding team. But this was a little less high than the delivery that got Shafali Verma. Two wickets in three deliveries saw DC slumping to 12/2.

Captain Meg Lanning struck two successive fours off Nat Sciver-Brunt -- a cut-past point followed by a heave over mid-on.

But Delhi Capitals' troubles continued as Jemimah Rodrigues (9), who struck two boundaries during her eight-ball stay at the crease, departed in the fifth over, trying to open the bat and drive a full-toss from Wong that swung in a bit and went straight to Hayley Matthews at the square. Wong got three wickets off three full-toss deliveries that otherwise should have been deposited beyond the boundary rope.

The lucky breaks meant DC slumped to 35/3 with Wong's figures reading 3-0-22-0. It appeared that the Delhi batters were instructed to go after bowling from the start to bat Mumbai out of the match.

Lanning and Marizanne Kapp (18 off 21 balls) added 38 runs in 35 balls for the fourth wicket partnership. Kapp struck a four off Saika Ishaque -- a superb pull between long-on and wide long-on, and did the same against Amelia Kerr but was out off the next ball in the 11th over, edging behind to one tossed up outside off.

And when captain Lanning was run out in the next over after a bit of yes-no, yes-no with Jess Jonassen, who had patted a loose ball to cover where Amanjot sent an accurate throw to keeper Yastika Bhatia. Lanning scored 35 off 29 deliveries, hitting five fours.

Delhi Capitals were down to 74/5 in the 12th over and from there they could not recover as Jess Jonassen (2), Arundhati Reddy (0), Minnu Mani (2) and Taniya Bhatia (0) departed in quick succession as Hayley Matthew claimed three of them for figures of 4-2-5-3 while Kerr got Reddy in her 2-19 from four overs.