WPL: Delhi Capitals won by 9 wickets against UP Warriorz in Bengaluru
Bowling in the PowerPlay brings out the best in Marizanne Kapp, and her prowess here has been consistently impressive. Therefore, it was no shock when she swiftly dismissed the top three UP Warriorz batters in Bengaluru on Monday, very quickly adding a touch of inevitability to the outcome of the match.
Kapp’s first wicket was Vrinda Dinesh, who got one full and outside off in the third over that she looked to cash in on but ended up slicing a catch to third man. What forced Vrinda into that shot had a lot to do with how Kapp operated earlier. It started with a one-run opening over in which the South African relentlessly hit good and short-of-good-length areas. The fresh pitch used for this game also played a bit sticky up front, which meant stroke making wasn’t that easy.
After Vrinda’s dismissal, which happened off the second ball of the third over, Kapp bowled four deliveries to Tahlia McGrath. Operating on the channel outside off-stump, she had the batter beaten on the cut three times. McGrath was on strike at the start of Kapp’s next over and the bowler continued with this back of length strategy, but this time got the ball to pitch on middle and off and got it to curve away, squaring the batter up and striking the off stump.For Alyssa Healy, Kapp bowled fuller and it was the late away movement that led to the downfall of the Warriorz skipper as she came down the track and ended up miscuing the ball. Having taken three wickets in three overs, Kapp was bowled out by her captain Meg Lanning but not before the fast bowler tested both Grace Harris and Shweta Sehrawat, before finishing with exceptional figures of 3 for 5 from her four overs, much to the delight of her partner Dane van Niekerk, who was all smiles in the stands sporting a Delhi Capitals jersey.
“It’s always been…wherever I’ve been playing, whether that’s international cricket or in leagues, I’m probably better off bowling with the new ball,” said Kapp about her four straight overs that rattled the Warriorz. So we always look to give me as many overs with the new ball, especially when it’s going well. With these teams, especially, you want to keep on attacking if you have one or two wickets down. So it’s a plan we have. We have very good death bowlers, so that allows me to bowl upfront more with the new ball.”
With a mere 33 runs on the scoreboard after nine overs, the Warriorz found themselves in a dilemma following Kapp’s remarkable spell. They were torn between consolidating their position and risking a meagre total, or opting for aggression and risking losing wickets. It was at this critical juncture that Radha Yadav was introduced into the attack. Both Grace Harris and Kiran Navgire chose the latter option, attacking the left-arm spinner. Harris managed to strike a boundary and Navgire smashed a six, in separate overs. However, their attempts to replicate these shots led to their downfall as Radha seized control of the latter half of the innings, further denting the Warriorz.
That’s all from this game folks. You can switch tabs and follow our live coverage of other ongoing matches. For now, it’s goodbye from our side..
Kapp, Player of the Match: Was happy when we won the toss, was nice to go out there and bowl. Pleased with the win. Tried to put some training into my bowling, changed a few things. I am just happy, was nervous coming into this game. I love bowling with the new ball, that’s the planning with my bowling. Luckily Meg (Lanning) gave me that (4th successive) over.
Lanning: I thought it was an excellent performance. Kapp was incredible as she took three wickets. Radha Yadav also picked some crucial wickets. Was nice to watch Shafali bat from the other end. Nice to watch her smashing sixes from the other end. It’s more about keeping it simple, it’s about encouraging her to play to her strengths. Radha has been bowling well, she wanted to be competitive today. She had the look in her eyes.
Shafali: Tried my best to win the game for the team. I wanted to build my innings today, took my time initially and played my shots once I was set. Thanks to her (Lanning), she always backs me when we are batting together.
Healy: We don’t have too many pace bowling options anyway (on having a spin Harvey bowling attack.) We couldn’t execute with the ball and didn’t play well overall. We could have put a few more runs on the board. Kapp was exceptional, we couldn’t adjust to the wicket and couldn’t post a good score. It’s not about being reckless, need to be smart with the decision making. We got to be better (in upcoming games.) Need to reflect on the way we played tonight, there was no real time for training. Just needed to turn up and get things done. We have a lot of choices, and we have a lot of difficult choices to make. We’ll decide what our best XI in a couple of nights.
