Shafali Verma and Jess Jonassen delivered destructive unbeaten fifties, propelling Delhi Capitals (DC) into the WPL 2025 playoffs with a dominant nine-wicket victory against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Saturday. This marked RCB’s fourth consecutive loss in the Bengaluru leg of the tournament, leaving them without a single win.
RCB’s captain Ellyse Perry once more took charge as the team batted first, tallying an undefeated 60 runs to push the total to 147 for 5. Despite her efforts, it wasn’t sufficient against the leading team, who saw two wickets each from Shikha Pandey and debutant left-arm spinner Shree Charani.
DC’s chase started with a challenge as they lost Meg Lanning in the third over. However, Shafali and Jonassen came together to form an unbroken 146-run partnership off just 77 balls – the largest in a WPL run chase. The Chinnaswamy Stadium fell silent as DC confidently secured victory with 27 balls to spare.
Perry leads RCB’s batting performance.
When Perry entered the game, she already had three fifties in RCB’s first five matches. As expected, she played a crucial role for her team on the slow surface. Despite promising starts from Danni Wyatt-Hodge (21 off 18) and Raghvi Bist (33 off 32), neither managed to score big runs. Instead, it was Perry who took charge of the innings and maintained a good run rate on the scoreboard.
After Pandey got rid of Smriti Mandhana for only 8 runs in the second over, Perry quickly took charge in Pandey’s following over with a boundary over the covers. She continued her momentum by hitting sixes off spinners Jonassen, Charani, and Minnu Mani.
Perry had a swift 44-run partnership with Wyatt-Hodge for the second wicket, followed by another 66 runs with Bist for the third. Despite Bist’s difficulty in making contact with the ball, this collaboration took 54 deliveries.
Perry achieved her fourth half-century of the season in just 37 balls during the 14th over. By the end of the 16th over, RCB was at a promising score of 119 for 2 and had high hopes for a solid final push. However, their performance fell apart as they only managed to score 28 runs and lost three wickets in the remaining four overs. In those last five overs, Perry faced a mere seven balls and added eight runs to her total.
Perry has surpassed Nat Sciver-Brunt as the top run-scorer of the tournament with 295 runs in six innings.
Charani has a brilliant debut.
DC chose Charani as their preferred player, over fast bowler Titas Sadhu, and she certainly proved to be the right choice. Despite the large number of spectators at Chinnaswamy, Charani remained composed and utilized the turning conditions in the first innings. She maintained a consistent line, aiming at middle and leg stump throughout her tightly-controlled spell. In the crucial 17th over, she dismissed both Bist and Richa Ghosh, causing a shift in momentum and ultimately securing an impressive record of 2 for 28 from her four overs.
Following the Chinnaswamy feast for Mandhana, the Chinnaswamy fast takes place.
During the 2024 WPL, Mandhana dominated the Chinnaswamy stadium with a total of 219 runs in five innings, including two half-centuries, and an impressive strike rate of 154.22. However, this season has seen her struggle as she has only managed to score 50 runs in four innings at her home ground, with a strike rate of 102.04. Unfortunately, on Saturday, she fell victim to an ill-advised shot against Pandey’s delivery outside off stump and was caught by Lanning at wide slip.
The DC system is optimized by using a left-right combination.
RCB got off to a strong start in their bowling powerplay, only conceding five runs in the initial three overs. Renuka Singh showed remarkable control with her swing, consistently hitting the stumps with her deliveries. In fact, she managed to get Lanning out after just 2 runs in 12 balls, thanks to Perry’s impressive catch at mid-on. However, as soon as Shafali and Jonassen paired up, DC began scoring runs freely, making it challenging for RCB to contain them.
Jonassen had once again taken to the field at No. 3, scoring an impressive unbeaten 61 in her previous match against Gujarat Giants at the same ground. DC, who mostly featured right-handed batters in their top order, decided to shake things up by promoting the left-hander Jonassen, which seemed to cause some disruption for RCB. In her fluent 38-ball innings, Jonassen smashed nine boundaries and even sent a straight six off Ekta Bisht’s left-arm spin.
Shafali, who had previously fallen in the 40s on three occasions, displayed a controlled performance. Demonstrating her determination to not lose her wicket after a strong beginning, she finished with her highest score of the season, hitting eight fours and four sixes (two on both the off and leg sides) and dominating the bowlers all around the field.
As DC approached their desired score, RCB’s bowling weakened and Shafali and Jonassen took advantage. After being at 68 for 1 in the first nine overs, DC swiftly reached their target by smashing eight fours and five sixes, scoring a total of 83 runs in the final 39 balls of their innings.
