"Crazy things happen": DC skipper Meg Lanning on batting collapse in WPL 2024 final
Mar 17, 2024
New Delhi [India], March 18 : Following her side's Women's Premier League (WPL) title loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the final, Delhi Capitals skipper Meg Lanning rued her team's batting collapse, remarking that "crazy things happen".
At one moment, DC were 64/0 in 7 overs with Openers Shefali Verma and Lanning firmly batting at the crease but lost all the 10 wickets for just 49 runs and the whole team was bundled out at 113 runs before the completion of their 20 overs.
An all-round Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) led by yet another solid knock by Ellyse Perry and brilliant bowling spells from spinners Shreyanka Patil and Sophie Molineux captured their first-ever WPL title after defeating Delhi Capitals by eight wickets in the title clash.
"Obviously disappointing not to get it done. The finals are about playing well on the day. Congratulations to RCB - you outplayed us tonight. It all happened relatively quickly as it tends to do. As we've seen in this tournament, crazy things happen. Full credit to RCB, they fought back really nicely and deserved the win. We did a lot right. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be. A lot of effort went from a lot of the people. Want to thank the support staff. Cricket is a funny game - you win some, you lose some," Lanning said at the post-match presentation.
Coming to the match, DC won the toss and elected to bat first. Openers Shafali Varma (44 in 27 balls, with two fours and three sixes) and skipper Meg Lanning (23 in 23 balls, with three fours) started really well for the team with a quickfire 64-run opening stand.
However, Shreyanka Patil (4/12), Sophie Molineux (3/20) and Asha Sobhana (2/14) helped RCB bounce back just after the powerplay and removed Delhi batters one-by-one, triggering an unfathomable batting collapse. DC was all out for 113 in 18.3 overs.
In the chase of 114, RCB put on a 49-run opening stand, powered by Sophie Devine (32 in 27 balls, with five fours and a six). However, RCB was tested by Delhi bowlers in middle overs and skipper Smriti Mandhana (31 in 39 balls, with three fours) departed at a crucial juncture to leave RCB at 82/2 in 15 overs. However, Ellyse Perry (35* in 37 balls, with four boundaries) and Richa
Ghosh (17* in 14 balls, with two fours) finished the chase with three balls left. Minnu Mani and Shikha Pandey took a wicket each for DC.
