Delhi Capitals openers Shafali Verma and captain Meg Lanning may the most out of the good batting conditions at the Brabourne Stadium in their WPL 2023 first match, against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, whose bowling took a massive tonking by the DC batters on Sunday afternoon.
Harmanpreet Kaur and her Mumbai Indians team had started off the WPL 2023 in stunning fashion on Saturday with the skipper herself leading from the front with the bat.
The DC skipper Meg Lanning and her opening partner Shafali Verma too joined the WPL 2023 in style as the duo put on a magnificent opening stand of 162 runs in only 14.3 overs. However, both were dismissed in the 15th over making way for Marizanne Kapp and Jemimah Rodrigues, both of whom continued the run-scoring spree and took DC beyond 200.
Shafali Verma was rapid to get off the blocks and took down the RCB pacers and spinners before Meg Lanning joined in with her ferocious cut shots. Both the batters hammered runs all around the Brabourne Stadium with no place left for hiding for the RCB bowlers who were rendered clueless by this deadly duo.
Shafali Verma, Meg Lanning made a partnership of 162 runs scored in 87 balls
Shafali Verma, the 19-year-old opener, scored 84 (45) with the help of 10 fours and 4 sixes, while Lanning, the Aussie captain and experienced batter, scored 72 (43) with the help of 14 fours.
Shafali Verma brought up her fifty in 31 balls and celebrated in a grand style, acknowledging the crowd that had turned up.
The young opener had an epic celebration for reaching her maiden WPL fifty on debut and the crowd erupted in joy. Verma completed her single that brought up her fifty raising the bat – like an Olympic runner – and twice fist pumped on her heart.
Watch: Shafali Verma’s epic celebration
Shafali Verma scores a delightful maiden 5️⃣0️⃣ for the @DelhiCapitals 🤩 #TATAWPL #CheerTheW #RCBvDC pic.twitter.com/VD8um3JtaE
— Sports18 (@Sports18) March 5, 2023
After exploits from Shafali Verma and Lanning, Kapp hammered 39 (17) and Jemimah scored 22 (15) to take DC”s total to 223. Smriti Mandhana and her RCB team has a stiff task at hand.
Teams:
Delhi Capitals Women (Playing XI): Shafali Verma, Meg Lanning(c), Marizanne Kapp, Jemimah Rodrigues, Alice Capsey, Jess Jonassen, Taniya Bhatia(w), Arundhati Reddy, Shikha Pandey, Radha Yadav, Tara Norris
Royal Challengers Bangalore Women (Playing XI):Smriti Mandhana (c), Sophie Devine, Heather Knight, Disha Kasat, Ellyse Perry, Richa Ghosh(w), Kanika Ahuja, Asha Shobana, Preeti Bose, Megan Schutt, Renuka Thakur Singh
