Delhi Capitals, led by their skipper Jemimah Rodrigues, scored a thumping seven-wicket victory over Gujarat Giants to march into the final of Women’s Premier League in Vadodara on Tuesday night.
Chasing a modest 169 for victory in the Eliminator, Delhi began well with openers Lizelle Lee and Shafali Verma putting the Gujarat Giants attack to the sword. The duo tore into the rival attack as they sped away to 89 off just seven overs before Lee was trapped leg before by Georgia Wareham but not before the opener had slammed a 24-ball 43 with eight fours and a six.
However, Shafali to fell three runs later as she was bowled by Wareham for 31 which came off 21 balls and contained seven fours.
At 92 for two, things were a bit dicey for Delhi Capitals, but Laura Wolvaardt and Rodrigues steadied the boat with a solid partnership. Though Laura was not at her best, Jemimah more than made it up with her silken touch.
The duo added 68 for the third wicket to get Delhi within sniffing distance of a final berth. However, Rodrigues fell nine short of the target but her 23-ball 41 with four boundaries and a six was enough for her side. Fitting enough, the winning boundary was hit by Marizanne Kapp. Laura remained unbeaten on 32, which came off 24 balls and contained two fours and a six.
Earlier, put into bat, Gujarat Giants were off to a poor start with Sophie Devine (6) falling to Chinelle Henry with the score reading nine for one. Anushka Sharma (16), skipper Ashleigh Gardner (0), Kanika Ahuja (6) fell cheaply to leave the Giants tottering at 59 for four.
Opener Beth Mooney, who was holding one end up, finally found a partner in Georgia Wareham and the duo added 61 for the fifth wicket before Wareham fell to Henry for 35, which came in 25 balls with three fours and a six.
Later, Mooney and Kashvee Gautam (18) added 39 for the seventh wicket. Mooney remained unbeaten on 62, which came off 51 balls with six boundaries. Gujarat Giants were restricted to 168 for seven.
Henry finished with figures of three for 35 and Nandani Sharma took two for 44.
“It is great. This final feels different. With GG, the last two games did not go our way. If you keep believing as a team, magic happens,” Jemimah said about the final.
What changed for the team ahead of the game, Jemimah said: “Nothing. Even our team meeting was short. We tried not to overthink. To trust ourselves. When you keep calm, things fall into place. A lot of credit goes to our bowlers. Our bowlers won us the game. They make my job easy as captain. One more game to go, and we keep the same plans. Today was restoration for us. The way Shafali and Lee, if they bat that way, it is very hard as a bowling team. Glad they are on my team.”
Was there a bit of worry during her partnership with Laura? “Did not worry too much about the score, stuck to our game and played on merit. I was doing one thing (earlier) – I was trying way too hard. Last two games, I just let go. Backed myself. Did not even practice. Because I was practicing so hard, trying to hit every ball perfectly. Like one of the interviews I heard about a butterfly. The more desperate you are, the more it goes away. But the more you just let go, the more it comes and sits on your shoulder. Credit to Wolfie (Wolvaardt) to bat with such intent (and positivity). One more game to go. We are going to keep our plans simple. One more game to go and then we will celebrate,” she said.
“It will be super chill. Whoever wants to, can practice. But not sure many will. Just about staying mentally fresh, going out there on fifth and playing some good cricket,” she added about the preparation for the final.
“Bowlers did extremely well to restrict them. She (Rodrigues) is a positive captain and doing extremely well to get the best (out of her team), and I really like that about her,” said Lee.
Brief scores: Gujarat Giants 168/7 in 20 overs (Beth Mooney 62 no, Georgia Wareham 35; Chinelle Henry 3/35, Nandani Sharma 2/44) lost to Delhi Capitals 169/3 in 15.4 overs (Lizelle Lee 43, Shafali Verma 31, Laura Wolvaardt 32 no, Jemimah Rodrigues 41; Georgia Wareham 2/28).
