MI vs DC Highlights, WPL 2024: Last-ball six from Sajana clinches thriller for Mumbai Indians

“Mumbai bowled pretty well upfront which probably was the difference. We thought we were in the game. We fought to take it to the last ball, unfortunately it was not to be. For most part we executed pretty well, but Yastika as the left-hander complicated things. For the first game considering we got one week before it was a good effort. We sort of nearly snuck in the end. When we got Kaur out, we were in the game, but to come out and get a six like that first ball is pretty impressive.”

A brilliant win and one to savour for the Mumbai Indians. Sajeevan Sajana hits a six off her very first ball in the WPL to seal a thriller in her side’s favour. So many talking points to discuss from this game, but first let’s see what the losing captain Meg Lanning had to say about the game. 

Alice Capsey is handed the ball for the final over. She has 12 runs to defend. Capsey tempts Vastrakar and she falls for it. Arundhati Reddy is waiting at cover to take a catch. DC concedes three runs in the next two balls, which brings the equation down to 9 off the last 3. Harmanpreet takes matters in her own hands and goes over point to bring the equation down to 5 off 2. Capsey won’t make it easy for MI as she removes Harmanpreet off the very next ball holing out to Annabel Sutherland at long on. Just when it looks like all hope is lost, Sajeevan Sajana hits a six off the last ball to CLINCH A THRILLER! 

Annabel Sutherland has been summoned to bowl this all-important penultimate over. Delhi in the death, a trial by fire. After giving away only four runs in the first four balls, Harman undoes the good work Annabel has done with a six off the last ball. She brings up her half century too. 

THE EQUATION: 12 NEEDED OFF 6.

Shikha Pandey will bowl out. And now it’s Melie Kerr who is stepping up under pressure. After a quiet start, she scoops the ball awkwardly for four. But Shikha Pandey will have the last laugh as she knocks Kerr’s leg stump. The Kiwi is livid but has to walk off. Shikha celebrates quietly. She goes cross seam and straight into the stumps. 

WICKET Amelia Kerr b Pandey 24 (18b 3x4 0x6) SR: 133.33

Arundhati will bowl out. She begins quietly, with two runs through deep midwicket, a leg bye on the on side, and a single through long off. Melie Kerr knows she needs a boundary as does Harman as they smash a boundary each to stay comfortable in the chase. 30 needed off 18 balls now for MI. 13 runs come off this Arundhati over. 

Kapp will now bowl out. A dot ball to begin. Kapp then goes short with the ball rising to Kerr’s leg stump which she is happy to dispatch for four behind backward square. Nine runs come off this over in total. Lanning has creases on her forehead. 

Annabel Sutherland comes in for her third over. Harmanpreet Kaur gets back to back boundaries off the Aussie allrounder. Harmanpreet has settled in and is now making Delhi pay. A run out attempt sees Harman desperately dive to make it to safety. But the worse sight is to see Harmanpreet clutch her hamstring. She’s getting looked at by the physio. Timeout has been called. Harman seems fine after getting some assistance. 12 runs come off that over. 

Arundhati comes back for her third and bowls a wayward no ball right off the bat. She bowls a bit wide but Yastika shuffles across to get a bat on it. She doesn’t manage, and won’t get the wide either. Arundhati removes Yastika off the very next ball with the MI opener holing out to Marizanne Kapp at deep midwicket. Amelia Kerr joins Harmanpreet Kaur. 

WICKET Yastika Bhatia c Kapp b Reddy 57 (45b 8x4 2x6) SR: 126.66

Radha comes in for her second. This is still anyone’s game, oh but hold on. Has Harmanpreet moved the pendulum a little to MI’s side with this crisp four between long on and deep midwicket. Nicely cuts the field to get FOUR runs. Eight runs come off the over for Mumbai Indians. 

Meg Lanning brings Annabel Sutherland back into the attack. The run flow needs to reduce, if the wickets aren’t going to come. Lovely variations from the Aussie, she’s switched up from full and back of length deliveries to a juicy yorker to keep Yastika quiet. The MI opener has the last laugh as she picks up a shorter delivery being bowled to leg for FOUR near deep midwicket. 

Radha Yadav is introduced. She has bowled a NO BALL off her first delivery. She manages to hold the pair to a run a ball but Yastika Bhatia will not be denied her boundary, She has smacked a full toss over long on. She has her hands ready for a catch but it has cleared her comfortably. This brings up Yastika’s fifty. 10 runs off Radha’s first over. 

Kapp to bowl her third. She begins over the wicket, with the first order of business being to stop boundaries coming off Yastika’s bat. But who will stop Harmanpreet? The ball stays low and she has slapped it through backward square leg for FOUR. No bounce at all there for Kapp. Eight runs come off the over. 

Arundhati Reddy returns for her second. She begins with a nice one in the slot and Yastika is happy to dispatch that for FOUR. She then tries to sweep and ends up with some impact on the pad but Lanning says it might be going down. Natalie Germanos explains how Yastika has expressedly said she wants to improve her strike rate. Last season, it was at 112. Today, she is going at 150. 7 runs come off this Arundhati Reddy over. A short break is taken. 

Alice Capsey comes in for her first over. The spin arsenal for Delhi isn’t too strong and the side has not picked Jess Jonassen. She concedes 10 runs, but more importantly, Yastika Bhatia is looking extremely comfortable. 

Lanning sticks with seam and introduces Arundhati Reddy. What has she done here? She has removed Nat Sciver-Brunt first ball! NUTMEGGED and the ball messes up the stumps. Lanning is ecstatic. Harmanpreet Kaur comes in and gets off the mark with a gorgeous cover drive. Delhi might have had its second wicket of the over if Minnu Mani had managed to hold on to that sharp chance at midwicket. 

WICKET Nat Sciver-Brunt b Reddy 19 (17b 2x4 1x6) SR: 111.76

Shikha returns to close out the PowerPlay. Both these Mumbai batters look extremely fluent. Shikha bowls it full and quite wide and she is happy to dispatch it to the fence over mid off for FOUR. After leaving an angling ball away from off, she hits Shikha for a four and six, the first edged past the keeper, and the second over the deep midwicket fence. Meg Lanning looked a bit stunned watching it go. Fifty up for Mumbai. 14 runs come off the over for Mumbai. Well on course for a simple win today, if this continues. 

Annabel Sutherland is brought into the attack, with the aim to find a way to dismiss Natalie Sciver-Brunt. After three dots, Sutherland bowls in the slot, allowing Yastika to hit back to back boundaries. It’s in the areas she likes, slightly short, giving her either enough time or enough room to smack it to the fence. She recovers to end with a single. 

Shikha returns from the other end. She switches between full and back of a length deliveries. Five runs come off the over, but the pair is kept quiet. 

Nat Sciver-Brunt is opening up now. She first gets a boundary behind square which Jemimah who was potentially distracted speaking to the broadcasters can’t stop from going past the ropes. She then steps back into the crease and thumps the ball to midwicket for SIX. NSB gets another boundary short of third this time. Very expensive over this. 15 runs come off it. Marizanne Kapp will not be happy about this. 

Yastika Bhatia finally gets strike. Shikha concedes six runs off this over, featuring a much-needed boundary for the Mumbai Indians. Yastika swings her bat and manages to dispatch this half volley for four. 

Oh what do we have here! Marizanne Kapp has removed Hayley Matthews off the second ball of the over. She goes full and tempts Matthews to get a hand to it. The ball however lands safely in Taniya Bhatia’s gloves. Electric start for the Delhi Capitals as they’ve removed the most valuable player of the first edition. Nat Sciver-Brunt comes in earlier than she would have liked and immediately there’s a big LBW appeal. Delhi appeals after NSB plays down the wrong lines. Umpires aren’t interested. Delhi reviews. But NSB survives. WICKET MAIDEN FOR KAPP! 

WICKET Hayley Matthews c †Bhatia b Kapp 0 (2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0

Mumbai Indians has never lost a game where they have chased. The dew in the Chinnaswamy Stadium will only encourage them further. Can Meg Lanning and Co. play spoiltsport? 

After a horrifying PowerPlay, Delhi Capitals has recovered and how! All thanks to key innings from Alice Capsey which was ably supported by Lanning, Jemimah and Kapp.

Amelia Kerr’s horror night continues. Back to back fours off Marizanne Kapp’s bat first past extra cover and then over the offside ring. There’s a bit of miscommunication between the duo but Sutherland survives. She then gets on her knees and paddles the ball for another four. She wants one more boundary but steps out of her crease as she tries to make space. She makes no contact with the ball as Yastika Bhatia has her stumped. Kerr has the last laugh but has the damage already been done? 

WICKET Marizanne Kapp st †Bhatia b Kerr 16 (9b 3x4 0x6) SR: 177.77

Nat Sciver-Brunt comes in for her final over. Chaotic over this turns out to be. Jemimah manages to clear the ropes going just over Ismail. Jemi is dropped off the very next ball. But, third time is the charm. After some shoddy work in the field, Yastika Bhatia manages to hold on to a dipping edge from Jemimah Rodrigues to give Mumbai its breakthrough. This brings Annabel Sutherland out to bat. There’s a run out chance right there, but Kapp survives. 

WICKET Jemimah Rodrigues c †Bhatia b Nat Sciver-Brunt 42 (24b 5x4 2x6) SR: 175

Capsey’s luck runs out. She’s down on her knees to try and sweep but the ball looks like it has hit her pad directly. Alice is walking away as the third umpire looks at the delivery. The umpire constantly says ‘ultra edge is coming up’ potentially to stop Capsey in her tracks. She’s out. Amelia Kerr has her wicket. The dangerous Alice Capsey falls after a scintillating 53-ball 75. Marizanne Kapp comes out to the middle. The South African is in the middle of a purple patch and will not bother about optics and she hopes to keep the scoring rate up. The challenge for Delhi is to not let the momentum dip now. 

WICKET Alice Capsey lbw b Kerr 75 (53b 8x4 3x6) SR: 141.5

Perfect time to introduce Shabnim again. CAPSEY SURVIVES AFTER SAJANA DROPS HER AT BACKWARD POINT. Shabnim is annoyed. The ball’s movement might have deceived her there. How much will this cost Mumbai? Matthews then misfields and concedes a single and it also turns out Shabnim has overstepped. NO BALL and consequently, free hit. Jemimah tells you power and brute strength are not everything. She places this beautifully, making room for herself as she sends it for four down third man. Oh wait. Jemimah won’t say no to a six if she can get one. No height just good positioning. Amelia Kerr misjudges the height on this as Jemimah gets a six through long on on a slower ball. Ismail bowls out and her final over has been expensive. 14 runs come off it. 

Pooja returns and sends in a shorter delivery angling away outside off. Jemimah nudges with an open bat to the boundary down short third. Meg Lanning is impressed with what she’s seeing. Capsey has been a sight for sore eyes as she switches side and then ever so gently scoops the ball to the boundary rope behind her. Jemimah caps the over with an upper cut boundary through backward point. She vigorously fist pumps Capsey. 14 runs come off this Vastrakar over. 

Nat Sciver-Brunt comes in for her third over. Jemimah pulls her to deep midwicket for a single. NSB sends in a slower delivery and she pushes this ball over the bowler’s head. Sciver-Brunt then helps the side get another boundary after an overthrow runs away to the fence. What is it with these Brits and their overthrow boundaries? (chuckle)

Jemimah is not able to get going at the same rate as Capsey and it almost feels like her partner is nudging her along as the overs pass. She finally manages to slog Ishaque to the boundary, going through backward point for four. Alice Capsey walks down the track to send the ball sailing over long on. Hundred up for Delhi Capitals. 

Pooja Vastrakar comes in for her first over of the day. In the 13th over. Gives away just four runs. Meg Lanning and Jon Batty meanwhile are in the middle of a very serious conversation. 

Hayley Matthews comes in for another over and Alice Capsey smacks her for a massive six. It goes really high over long on and fielders were trying to get under it, but it lands outside the boundary rope. OH she’s not done. Another SIX comes off her bat, a little wide of mid on. She’s got some space and smacks it over the stands. Chinnaswamy loves its sixes. Keep them coming, Alice! Under pressure with some topsy turvy form internationally and with Annabel Sutherland breathing down her neck in this lineup, she gets to her fifty with a boundary between point and backward point. 19 runs plucked out of this Hayley Matthews over. 

Nat Sciver-Brunt returns. After a few singles conceded, she gets the big wicket of skipper Meg Lanning with a fuller delivery outside off. Lanning goes after it but hasn’t middled it and edges it to Sajana at backward point. BREAKTHROUGH. Where does the DC innings go from here? Jemimah Rodrigues is the new batter for Delhi. 

WICKET Meg Lanning c Sajana b Nat Sciver-Brunt 32 (27b 3x4 1x6) SR: 118.51

Hayley Matthews comes in for her first over of the day. Capsey runs a single. Matthews switches to bowling around the wicket to Meg Lanning and has beaten her to her knees. Lanning looks to sweep but misses. There’s an appeal for LBW. Harman places faith in her bowler and goes for DRS. Ball tracking saves Lanning as the ball’s trajectory is missing the stumps. Lanning lives to face another ball. Matthews follows it up with a flatter between off and middle line. The ball inside edges its way to short third, but Lanning runs away to safety. Capsey looks to sweep also ends up losing track of the ball, but no harm done. What a wonky over this. Delhi will exhale given they’ve suffered no casualties. 

After just six runs on the board in the first three overs, this has been some recovery. Delhi Capitals will need this pair to keep going. 

Kerr returns. Meg Lanning welcomes her with the first six of the season. She has thumped this over mid on. A few deliveries later, Capsey dances down the track to send the ball to the fence for four. Kerr manages to beat her when Capsey gets on a knee to hit it the other way, exposing her stumps in the process. Kerr will look at that and try and see how she can attack her in that area. 

Keerthana B comes into the attack. Meg Lanning has been playing it safe all along but she’s freeing her arms against the leg spinner. She first gets the ball through to the extra cover boundary after a misfield from Hayley Matthews which allows the ball through. She then plays the next ball late for FOUR through backward point. Keerthana has conceded 13 runs in her first ever over in WPL. Mumbai won’t mind that. It’s all about giving these youngsters a chance to shake the nerves off. Fifty up for Delhi Capitals. 

Amelia Kerr into the attack. And DC is looking like the DC we know in this over. Capsey has taken on the responsibility of accelerating and welcomes Kerr with a boundary between extra cover and mid off. Lanning also wants a piece of the action as she steps down the track and sends the ball to the fence. Kerr appeals for Lanning’s wicket off the last ball of the over. She seems to be hit on the pads but the umpire dismisses it. She’s stepped down the track and read the length all wrong. 

After being restricted to its lowest PowerPlay score, good recovery for Delhi.

Saika Ishaque comes on for her second over. She will close out the PowerPlay, an abysmal one for the Capitals in terms of scoring rate. Saika is also stingy as Delhi squeezes four singles from here. 

Shabnim Ismail gets her third straight over. A few dots including a short rising delivery from Shabnim to keep Capsey in her crease. The DC run rate is at 3.67 and asking for life support! Shabnim is absolutely unplayable today as even Capsey goes on to keep knocking the ball to fielders. Oh, but hold on. Capsey will not be denied as she uses the width Shabnim gives her despite going short to get the ball through to backward point for FOUR. She follows it up with two runs down third man after the ball is stopped by the rope. 

Nat Sciver Brunt comes into the attack now. She beats Capsey off the first ball but her compatriot knows NSB’s angles better than most. She’s been smacked for back to back boundaries - the first few for the Delhi innings tonight. The first is lodged over mid on, while the other goes through square leg. Harmanpreet Kaur and Sciver-Brunt are fervently changing field positions. NSB follows it with what looks like a wide ball. Harman believes Capsey’s got bat on it as a faint edge can be heard. MI reviews the wide. There’s a spike when the ball passes the pad and rescinds the wide. But cricket is a funny funny game as Nat Sciver Brunt follows it up with a wide angling away to the offside. She can do nothing but smile. She follows it up with a bouncer going straight above Capsey’s head. The over ends with the crowd’s hearts in their mouth after a very lucky escape in a run out situation for Alice Capsey. Lanning didn’t look like she wanted that run, but is Vastrakar was on target. Capsey would be making the long walk back to the pavilion. 

Pressure was building and Shabnim Ismail tears through her stumps. What a start with the Mumbai Indians for the South African. Shafali’s painful stay at the crease comes to a rather premature end. Alice Capsey joins Meg Lanning and gets off the mark right away. I can’t get over that Shafali dismissal. The middle stump went flat as Ismail bowled to the stumps with the ball coming slightly in. Her eyes were visibly not on the ball. Lanning employs the late cut to counter Shabnim as she negotiates the feisty pacer safely. Delhi has to amp up the scoring rate at some point though, especially against this MI batting order. Shabnim Ismail has dismissed Capsey three times in international cricket and so she’s taking no risks. She’s focusing on strike rotation at the moment. A dangerous ball to end the over as the ball goes into Meg Lanning. She’s got bat on it or all that pad contact would have devastated DC.

WICKET Shafali Verma b Ismail 1 (8b 0x4 0x6) SR: 12.5

Spin right away as Harmanpreet looks to Saika Ishaque and there’s an appeal on the very first ball. There’s an appeal for caught behind after it looks like Lanning has knicked one to the keeper. It was a fuller ball and she had to grind the bat to make contact. MI won’t review to look for an edge after the umpire shows no interest. The MI bowlers are keeping DC’s openers very quiet. Shafali has a ring of fielders on the off side and is getting frustrated. Shafali is finding the fielder with every shot. Delhi has just three runs on the board in 12 balls at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. 

Ismail steams in as she opens the bowling for Mumbai Indians. Lanning plays it late and defends. Ismail sends in a shorter ball going upwards. Lanning reaches for it but can only the swish the bat. No harm. A fuller ball follows. Lanning manages a run with an inside edge with a misfield by Pooja Vastrakar too. Shafali sees the over through without much of a risk. She’s hitting the ball clean but finding the fielders with every hit of the ball. Good start here by Ismail as she gives away just the solitary run. 

Meg Lanning vs Shabnim Ismail is a contest I am looking forward to. Lanning recently retired from international cricket and has spent some time piling on the runs in the domestic scene back home. She was the orange cap holder last season. Can she replicate her heroics individually and that thrilling partnership with Shafali which gave the team more than 450 runs? 

One can only wait and watch. 

Who do you think was unfortunate to miss out today?

Meg Lanning (c), Shafali Verma, Alice Capsey, Jemimah Rodrigues, Marizanne Kapp, Annabel Sutherland, Arundhati Reddy, Minnu Mani, Taniya Bhatia, Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey

Annabel Sutherland comes in right off the bat for DC. Jess Jonassen misses out which is the big news coming from this announcement. Meg backed Arundathi Reddy a lot last season and that continues as she finds a place in this season too. No Titas Sadhu just yet. 

Harmanpreet Kaur, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Yastika Bhatia, Hayley Matthews,. Amelia Kerr, Amanjot Kaur, S Sajana, Pooja Vastrakar, Shabnim Ismail, Keerthana Balakrishnan, Saika Ishaque

No Issy Wong. Debut for Shabnim Ismail. Keerthana B brings in a solid spin option and S Sajana also gets a look in. Nice balance of Indian and overseas talent in this team. 

Usually, when Meg Lanning loses a toss, she would say it doesn’t matter but Natalie Germanos observes that Meg isn’t happy about losing this toss. This is a ground that loves teams batting second and the numbers favour the chase, as does dew. It’s a tough ask of Delhi to first put up a massive score and then defend it. But we know this bunch is up for a challenge

What do you know? Harmanpreet Kaur wins the toss and will bowl first. She announces that three debutants will feature in this game for the side. She says dew was a big factor in opting to bowl first. 

Lanning says she is fielding four seamers and two spinners. 

The captains are congregating in the middle. Match referee GS Lakshmi is with them. These playing combinations are going to give their managements a massive headache. Only four foreign players can be fielded. How will the DC and MI playing XIs look?

With a power-packed side and a good balance between Indian and international players, season one runner-up Delhi Capitals will fancy its chances to go the distance this time.

Delhi Capitals WPL 2024 team analysis: Squad depth, players to watch out, fixtures

With a power-packed side and a good balance between Indian and international players, season one runner-up Delhi Capitals will fancy its chances to go the distance this time.

Under an able and experienced leader in Harmanpreet Kaur, Mumbai Indians continues to field an assembly line of all-rounders as it hopes to retain its WPL crown.

Mumbai Indians WPL 2024 team analysis: Squad depth, players to watch out, fixtures

Under an able and experienced leader in Harmanpreet Kaur, Mumbai Indians continues to field an assembly line of all-rounders as it hopes to retain its WPL crown.

The second iteration of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) is set for an electric opening in Bengaluru on Friday, with defending champion Mumbai Indians going up against runner-up Delhi Capitals. Expect nothing less than a battle for the Capitals, who would want to ascertain their superiority against the only side that troubled them time and again. While for the defending champion, it will all be about continuing what it left the last season. 

- Five teams will face off against each other in the nearly month-long tournament

- Mumbai Indians is the defending champion

- Captains of the teams: 

Mumbai Indians: Harmanpreet Kaur

Delhi Capitals: Meg Lanning

UP Warriorz: Alyssa Healy

Gujarat Giants: Beth Mooney

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Smriti Mandhana

Welcome to the live coverage of the Women’s Premier League. India’s premiere franchise tournament for women returns for its second chapter with an array of stars and two brand new venues. We begin the season in Bengaluru after which action will move to New Delhi. 

You can follow the live telecast of the Women’s Premier League on Sports 18 and the Jio Cinema App.