WPL 2024: In the tournament opener, MI defeats DC thanks to S. Sajana’s final ball six

The 2024 Women’s Chief Association (WPL) got off to an exciting start as protecting champions Mumbai Indians (MI) crushed Delhi Capitals (DC) by four wickets, including a last-ball six from debutant S Sajana. Chasing 172 runs for triumph, MI endured an early blow after Hayley Mathews fell for nothing to Marizanne Kapp. They managed another pound blow when medium-pacer Arundhati Reddy expelled batting lynchpin Nat Sciver-Brunt for 19 with a ball that followed back in and pressed through the batter’s feet and took the leg stump down.

Yastika Bhatia and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur kept the title holders within the chase, and at the midway check, MI gazed at an inquiring rate of 9.3 runs per over to clinch the competition opener. The Baroda southpaw ought to her fifty by dispatching a full hurl for most extreme off Radha Yadav and kept MI’s chances above water, putting on 50 runs with Kaur, but when the stand appeared to be going from match-turning to match-winning, Bhatia fell to Reddy for 57, caught by Kapp at the square-leg boundary to put the coordinate back on a knife edge.

Sajana pulls of heist with last-ball six as Mumbai Indians rock Delhi Capitals in WPL 2024 opener, Alice Capsey's all-round gem goes in vainhttps://t.co/BueKe2uRPI

— Sports Tak (@sports_tak) February 23, 2024

The captain guaranteed her side did not drop as far behind, but with 52 runs required in five overs, DC knew they were still very much within the game. Alice Capsey encouraged DC’s support by evacuating Pooja Vastrakar (1 run off 3 balls) and Kaur (55 runs off 33 balls) within the last over. But at that point came the bend that no one saw as the debutant Sajana crushed Capsey for a six-over long-on off the ultimate ball to drag off one of the most noteworthy wins within the brief history of the league. Prior, Capsey’s brilliant innings (75 runs off 52 balls, 9×4, 3×6) made a difference for DC, who posted 171 for 5 in their 20 overs after being put into bat by MI.  Shabnim Ismail, making her MI debut, expelled Shafali Varma for 1, and at the side, Ishaque put the breaks on the DC innings, conceding an unimportant 26 runs within the opening powerplay.

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But captain Meg Lanning and Capsey brought DC back into the challenge with a 64-run stand for the moment wicket and were serious on the leg-spinning duo of Amelia Kerr and debutant Keethana Balakrishnan, with the previous demonstrating to be especially costly in her opening two overs. Sciver-Brunt broke the organization by rejecting the DC captain for 31, but Capsey proceeded to overwhelm the bowling and the spinners in particular, lofting the slower bowlers with ease and driving the innings forward. It was a familiar innings, but not a chanceless one, as she got a life on 72, dropped by S Sajana. The dropped chance did not demonstrate exorbitant for MI, as Capsey was before long rejected, according to Kerr. But Jemimah Rodrigues’ thump (42 runs off 24 balls, 5×4, 2×6) advertised the innings the ultimate thrive it required and put DC within the driver’s situate at the midway mark. MI gave debuts to three players—Keerthana Balakrishnan, Shabnim Ismail, and S Sajana—whereas DC brought in Annabel Sutherland for Jess Jonassen from the teams that played the ultimate year.