Skipper Jemimah Rodrigues struck an unbeaten half-century, her first of the season, to steer Delhi Capitals to an impressive seven-wicket victory with six balls to spare in the Women’s Premier League in Vadodara on Tuesday night.
Jemimah, who was appointed skipper this season, had a horrid time with the willow. She had scores of 1, 15, 21 and 4 in her previous games. On Tuesday, she broke the shackles free with a 37-ball 51 as Delhi Capitals, replying to Mumbai Indians’ 154/5, made 155 for three in 19 overs.
Fittingly enough, Marizanne Kapp (10 not out), who was the pick of the Capitals’ bowlers with her impeccable spell of one for 8 from her four overs, hit the winning run, a six off Nat Scriver-Brunt. Jemimah and Kapp stitched a 37-run partnership off 17 balls to finish the game in style.
Delhi began the chase in right earnest with Shafali Varma (29) and Lizelle Lee (46) getting off the blocks in a quick time. The duo added 63 for the first wicket before Shafali fell.
Lee too departed quickly after making 46 off 28 balls with seven fours and a six. But she had done enough to put Capitals in the driver’s seat.
Laura Wolvaardt (17) and Jemimah took the score to 118 before Laura perished and Capitals still needed 37 in 3.5 overs. But Jemimah and Kapp were in no mood to concede ground as they went after the rival attack. Jemimah got her 50 off 36 balls with five fours and a six.
A perfect team gal, Jemimah was named the Player of the Match but in her ever-humble style she wanted to share it with Kapp. “I would like to share this award with Kapp. I asked but they said no. Proud of the way the team bowled. Kapp’s running between the wickets with me it really set the tone,” she said.
They told me to give myself time initially, said Jemimah
There were many doubts about her form and captaincy, but she put those to rest on Tuesday. “I’ve had conversations with a few people I trust, and they told me to give myself time initially. I knew that if I got past those 10 balls, and having clarity, it was easier to score here. I knew anything under 160 was a fighting score, but we still needed to bat well. I learnt a little from Nat and Harman too, about how to bat on this pitch,” she said.
Earlier, Kapp produced a superb spell which kept Mumbai Indians on a tight leash. While other bowlers went for runs, Kapp just gave away eight runs in her four overs.
About her bowling spell, Kapp said: “It was a nice wicket to bowl on. Would have liked a few more wickets. Probably a little fuller tonight, looked like it was difficult to get underneath the ball.”
The Mumbai innings revolved around Nat Scriver-Brunt. She and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (41) added 78 for the third wicket to help Mumbai recover from a poor start. Nat remained unbeaten on 65 off 45 balls with six fours and two sixes.
Apart from Kapp, spinner Sree Charani did well with a three for 33 haul.
“We were 20-30 runs short. We couldn’t execute with the bat and it has been bothering us throughout the tournament. We need to push more in the powerplay. Before the tournament, we were struggling with injuries [in the squad]. It’s not an excuse, but whoever is batting in the opening spot has to take responsibility,” Harmanpreet said.
Vaishnavi Sharma had a great debut as she bagged one for 20 in four overs.
Harmanpreet had a word of praise for her. “She is the one who kept us in the game. We bowled badly in the powerplay, but her wicket of Shafali was the turning point. She was great with Amanjot. The next two games are important, and we’ll go in with a positive mindset,” she said.
Brief scores: Mumbai Indians 154/5 (Nat Scriver-Brunt 65, Harmanpreet Kaur 41; Shree Charani 3/33) lost to Delhi Capitals 155/3 in 19 overs (Shafali Varma 29, Lizelle Lee 46, Jemimah Rodrigues 51 no).
