Kapp helps Capitals thump Warriorz
Proteas all-rounder Marizanne Kapp helped the Delhi Capitals get off the mark in the Tata Women’s Premier League as they powered to a huge ninewicket win over the UP Warriorz at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Monday night.
Gqeberha’s Kapp opened the bowling for the Capitals and destroyed the Warriorz top order, bowling all four of her overs straight up to finish with fantastic figures of 3-5, while spinner Radha Yadav took charge of the middle and closing overs to end with 4-20.
This saw the Warriorz limp to a below-par total of 119/9 in their 20 overs, which proved to be no challenge for Capitals openers Shafali Verma, 64* off 43 balls (6x4, 4x6) and Meg Lanning, 51 off 43 (6x4) as they smashed a 119-run stand in 14.2 overs to dominate the chase.
It was the perfect power play for the Capitals, with Verma the aggressor as she hammered her way to 41 off 22 balls, hitting six fours and two sixes, while Lanning supported with 15 off 14, as they reached 57/0 by the end of it.
Having started so well, the openers then eased up a bit, ticking things along towards the halfway mark, with Lanning getting more into the match as they reached 10 overs on 82/0, with Verma on 48 and Lanning on 32.
Verma brought up her halfcentury and the team’s hundred in style, shuffling down the wicket and crunching Deepti Sharma for six over deep midwicket in the 12th over.
Lanning then reached her half-century with a two off Sophie Ecclestone, which also levelled the scores, but fell the next ball, caught by Dinesh Vrinda at backward square leg, leaving Jemimah Rodrigues to come in and sweep Ecclestone for four to end the match.
In the first innings, the Warriorz got off to a disastrous start as Kapp tore through their top order, leaving them in big trouble on 16/3 after five overs.
She had Vrinda caught by Shikha Pandey at deep third man for a fifth-ball duck, bowled Tahlia McGrath (1) with a brilliant outswinger that clipped the top of off stump and had Alyssa Healy (13) well caught by Verma running backwards over her shoulder.
This brought Shweta Sehrawat, 45 off 42 balls (5x4, 1x6) in to join Grace Harris (17) and they tried to rebuild with a 24-run fourth-wicket stand, but just before the halfway mark Yadav struck, having Harris caught by Verma to leave them on 40/4 after 10 overs.
In her next over, Kiran Navgire thwacked Yadav for a six over wide long on, but the bowler got her revenge with the next ball as the batter skied it for Yadav to take the catch to reduce them to 57/5.
Sehrawat took charge of a 28-run stand, with Poonam Khemnar (10) before Yadav had Khemnar caught at short fine leg, with the score 85/6 in the 15th over.
Sehrawat was running out of partners and decided to have a crack, hitting a six and three fours over the next few overs, but with a half-century in sight she came down the track to Yadav, completely missed the ball and was stumped by Taniya Bhatia to end a 24-run seventh wicket partnership.
Annabel Sutherland had Sharma (5) caught by Kapp at deep midwicket, while Yadav ended in style with a wicket off the last ball of the innings, with Ecclestone (6) caught by Lanning.