Dubey’s dismissal gives Vidarbha hopes of a late fightback
Jemimah Rodrigues is an entertainer. She knows how to turn up on a big stage. Delhi Capitals’ 29run win over Mumbai Indians in its first ever home fixture in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) saw the batter at her explosive best as she made a matchwinning 33ball 69 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday.
A 48run opening stand set the tone for Capitals, put in to bat on a slow surface. After promising starts, Shafali and Alice Capsey fell in quick succession. Meg Lanning slowly sunk her teeth into the MI bowling stock pile. Even a 132kmph ripper from Shabnim Ismail couldn’t stop the Australian from cruising to a halfcentury. When she fell soon after, courtesy a brilliant catch by Amelia Kerr at deep midwicket, the onus fell on Jemimah.
A rare offday with the ball didn’t help MI’s case, with Jemimah finding enough time to walk across the stumps most times and send the ball to the ropes.
The over in which she hit Nat SciverBrunt for a four and two sixes was particularly delightful. It saw her fistpumping her way up and down the field as her team's score inflated.
With 192 on the board, Marizanne Kapp and Shikha Pandey cleaned up Yastika Bhatia and SciverBrunt. Jess Jonassen did not allow Hayley Matthews to capitalise on a botched catch by Taniya Bhatia behind the stumps as Capsey snapped up another mistimed hit at midwicket.
Pooja Vastrakar and Amanjot Kaur’s 48run partnership gave MI some hope before the latter fell to Jonassen. Capitals fielded four pacers but it was the wily leftarm spinner who sealed the game in the host’s favour.
Pooja and S. Sajana’s big hitting only reduced the margin of defeat for the defending champion.
DELHI CAPITALS
Meg Lanning c Kerr b Pooja 53 (38b, 6x4, 2x6), Shafali Verma c Yastika b Ismail 28 (12b, 3x4, 2x6), Alice Capsey b Matthews 19 (20b, 3x4), Jemimah Rodrigues (not out) 69 (33b, 8x4, 3x6), Marizanne Kapp b Saika 11 (12b, 1x4), Jess Jonassen (not out) 4 (5b); Extras (lb1, w7): 8; Total (for four wkts. in 20 overs): 192.
FALL OF WICKETS
148 (Shafali, 4.3 overs), 279 (Capsey, 9.3), 3114 (Lanning, 12.6), 4151 (Kapp, 17.2).
MUMBAI INDIANS BOWLING Ismail 40461, Saika 40291, SciverBrunt 40380, Pooja 40201, Kerr 20350, Matthews 20231.
MUMBAI INDIANS Hayley Matthews c Capsey b Jonassen 29 (17b, 6x4), Yastika Bhatia b Kapp 6 (3b, 1x4), Nat SciverBrunt b Shikha 5 (3b, 1x4), Harmanpreet Kaur c Radha b Kapp 6 (6b, 1x4), Amelia Kerr c
Jemimah b Titas 17 (20b, 1x4, 1x6), Pooja Vastrakar st. Taniya b Radha 17 (22b, 1x6), Amanjot Kaur b Jonassen 42 (27b, 7x4), S. Sajana (not out) 24 (14b, 3x4, 1x6), Humaira Kazi b Jonassen 6 (8b); Extras (w11): 11; Total (for eight wkts. in 20 overs): 163.
FALL OF WICKETS
17 (Yastika, 0.4), 212 (SciverBrunt, 1.1), 329 (Harmanpreet, 2.6), 454 (Matthews, 5.5), 568 (Kerr, 8.5), 6116 (Amanjot, 15.1), 7137 (Pooja, 17.4), 8163 (Humaira, 19.6).
CAPITALS BOWLING Kapp 40372, Shikha 30271, Jonassen 40213, Titas 30231, Radha 30231, Arundhati 30320.
Toss: Mumbai Indians. Player-of-the-Match: Jemimah. Delhi Capitals won by 29 runs. Wednesday’s match: Gujarat Giants vs. Royal Challengers, 7.30 p.m.
The promise of the secondwicket partnership between Yash Dubey (94, 212b, 10x4) and Harsh Gawali (67, 80b, 11x4) withered away in the wake of a meek middleorder display, leaving Vidarbha within reach of a victory against Madhya Pradesh in the first Ranji Trophy semifinal at the VCA Stadium here on Tuesday.
MP was still in contention under Dubey’s watch but his fall in the penultimate over of the fourth day left the side at 228 for six, still 93 runs away from a victory.
The 106run alliance between Dubey and Gawali was a course correction after Himanshu Mantri holed out at midon off Aditya Sarvate in the sixth over. While Dubey was content with the slap through point and the flick with which he flagged off the chase in Umesh Yadav’s first over, Gawali set the side’s counter in motion with three boundaries in as many deliveries off Yash Thakur. Gawali drew from his share of luck too, when his poke outside off against Thakur flew between second slip and gully, getting him to a 54ball 50. But the bowler had the last laugh, inducing
Dubey’s knock arrested a batting collapse for MP in pursuit of a tricky target.
an edge wicketkeeper.
Akshay Wakhare was aided by purchase as he accounted for Sagar Solanki and captain Shubham Sharma before tea. Just when Venkatesh Iyer brought hope with an assault, Wakhare’s delivery jumped from a length, took the shoulder of Venkatesh’s bat, and went to first slip.
Dubey, who brought up a fifty in 84 balls, was desperate for support when Saransh Jain arrived. Their 32 runs for the sixth wicket came at a trickle but were steering the side closer.
However, an inside edge popped up for silly point
to
the
off Dubey’s pad and turned the plot again.
Earlier in the day, Yash Rathod’s burst helped Vidarbha set a fighting target. He took two deliveries in the morning to breach the fence and register his maiden FirstClass century off 167 deliveries.
Rathod then latched on when Kulwant Khejroliya offered width, picking two more boundaries through point.
Rathod remained a thorn for MP even as his side slipped from 377 for six to 385 for nine.
Rathod pummelled Anubhav for backtoback sixes over midwicket to swell his team’s total past 400 runs. It was a slower one from Khejroliya that foxed him on 141, taking his inside edge and ricocheting onto the stumps.
The scores: Vidarbha — 1st innings: 170. MP — 1st innings: 252. Vidarbha — 2nd innings:
MP — 2nd innings:
Fall of wickets:
Vidarbha bowling: