DC’s seamers proved to be vital in their match against GG as they collectively picked up seven wickets. However, it was Jess Jonassen’s impressive knock of 61 not out in just 32 balls that led DC to a comfortable six-wicket victory.
With this win, DC has now claimed the top spot on the WPL points table, at least temporarily. Their record stands at three wins out of five games. On the other hand, GG suffered yet another defeat, leaving them at the bottom of the table with only one win in four matches.
After opting to bowl first, Meg Lanning had high expectations for a quick breakthrough. Her trust in Marizanne Kapp and Shikha Pandey paid off as they both took two wickets apiece in the powerplay, limiting GG to a mere 20 runs for the loss of four wickets.
As the match progressed, GG’s struggle continued with their score reaching only 60 for 6. It seemed unlikely that they would even reach the 100-run mark. However, Bharti Fulmali’s impressive knock of 40 not out from just 29 balls at No. 8 turned things around and helped GG reach a respectable total of 127 for 9.
Despite losing Lanning early on in the chase, DC was able to stay in the game thanks to a strong performance from Jonassen and a partnership of 74 with Shafali Verma. In fact, the contest was essentially over after just 6.1 overs when they reached this impressive score. As soon as Kapp sealed the win with a boundary, there were still 29 balls remaining in the match.
Kapp and Pandey leave the Giants in a state of shock.
Demonstrating her usual technique, Kapp consistently caused the ball to deviate away from right-hand batsmen. During the opening of the innings, Harleen Deol was able to make contact with one of these deliveries, but unfortunately it fell just short of Lanning at first slip.
Unfortunately, Deol’s luck was short-lived when Kapp produced yet another outside edge in the following over. This time, the ball was neatly caught by Sarah Bryce. Phoebe Litchfield, who took Laura Wolvaardt’s spot on the team, only faced three deliveries before being dismissed for a duck by Kapp’s lbw.
Kapp’s successful bowling left GG in a difficult position at 16 for 2 after four overs. The following over saw Pandey further worsen their situation with two consecutive wickets. Mooney had initially started the over strong, hitting a boundary through the covers, but Pandey quickly adjusted her bowling technique and managed to dismiss Mooney with a pick-up shot that landed in Niki Prasad’s hands at long leg.
Pandey and Prasad were a formidable duo as they once again joined forces on the following delivery. This time, it was Kashvee Gautam who fell victim to their teamwork, as her attempted pull from a wide position resulted in the ball soaring towards deep midwicket. Prasad, with his quick reflexes, sprinted towards the ball and made a spectacular diving catch to secure the dismissal.
Pandey pulled another short delivery for the hat-trick ball, successfully getting past Deandra Dottin’s pull and hitting her on the helmet. Following a concussion evaluation, Dottin retaliated by flat-batting the next ball down the ground for four runs. In the following over, she repeated the same shot against Kapp, resulting in another boundary. These well-executed shots added some much-needed points to their score as GG wrapped up the powerplay with a respectable 31 for 4.
Fulmali takes the charge in rallying a counterattack.
During the ninth over, Titas Sadhu successfully knocked down the stumps of Ashleigh Gardner, GG’s captain and star batter, who had only managed to score 3 runs off 9 balls. Just a couple of overs later, Annabel Sutherland halted Dottin’s aggressive efforts. However, Fulmali stepped in for her first game of the season and spearheaded the team’s comeback. In the 15th over, she smashed Minnu Mani for a six over deep square-leg, marking the first big hit of the match. Alongside Tanuja Kanwar, she formed a partnership of 51 runs in 40 balls for the seventh wicket and guided the side beyond a total of 120 runs.
As Lanning’s results continue to decrease, their returns are also diminishing.
Despite her strong record as the second-highest run-getter in the WPL, Lanning has faced some challenges this season. This was evident once again on Tuesday when she was bowled out by Dottin in the first over and later dismissed for only 3 runs off 13 balls while attempting to pull Gautam, who delivered a ball that sharply turned back and hit her off stump. Other than her notable performance of 69 against UP Warriorz, Lanning has struggled to find her footing this season.
Lanning’s performance has seen diminishing returns. In the 2023 season, she achieved a score of 345 runs with an average of 49.28 and a strike rate of 139.11. However, in the following season, her strike rate decreased to 123.04 while her runs tally stayed relatively constant. This time around, her stats show 109 runs from five innings at an average of 21.80 and a strike rate of 103.80.
The contest was dominated by Jonassen and Shafali.
DC’s decision to position Jonassen at No. 3 proved to be extremely successful, particularly given the noticeable discrepancy in boundary lengths – 51 metres on one side compared to 63 metres on the other. Taking advantage of the shorter boundary on her leg side, Jonassen hit a total of 23 runs off just eight deliveries, including two sixes. She maintained her aggressive approach against all bowlers and even when facing Gautam, who scored 15 runs off nine balls at a strike rate of 166.66, her lowest for the match.
Shafali predominantly favored hitting on the leg side, regardless of the location of the shorter boundary. Out of her 44 runs scored in 27 balls, 32 were accumulated on the leg side. However, her innings was cut short in the ninth over when Gardner dismissed her lbw, with DC’s score already at 88.
Jonassen achieved her first WPL half-century in 26 deliveries. Despite the early dismissals of Rodrigues and Sutherland, there was never any doubt that DC would emerge victorious.
