For the third consecutive evening, the 2024 Women’s Premier League (WPL) unfolded another gripping match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Delhi Capitals secured their spot in the playoffs, becoming the second team to do so after Mumbai Indians, with a nail-biting one-run victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore. While Richa Ghosh showcased resilience with a rapid 29-ball 51, reminiscent of Harmanpreet Kaur‘s heroics for Mumbai Indians in the previous match, her efforts weren’t enough to steer RCB to victory. As a result, the visitors suffered a setback to their playoff aspirations.
RCB’s Run Chase:
In New Delhi on Sunday, RCB faced an early setback as they lost captain Smriti Mandhana in pursuit of 182 runs. However, a resilient 80-run partnership between Sophie Molineux and Ellyse Perry revived their hopes. Delhi Capitals struck back by dismissing both batters within five balls, but RCB rallied again with a 49-run partnership between Sophie Devine and Ghosh.
Despite Devine’s dismissal after the timeout by Marizanne Kapp, Ghosh continued to fight alone in the chase. With 17 runs required off the final over, Ghosh showcased nerves of steel, hitting two sixes to reduce the equation to 2 runs off 1 ball. However, the pressure proved too much as she fell just short of leading RCB to a thrilling victory.
On the last delivery, Ghosh attempted to drive Jess Jonassen’s fuller delivery towards backward point, but Shafali Verma fielded the ball there and quickly returned it to the bowler. Jonassen swiftly broke the stumps as Ghosh’s desperate dive fell short, resulting in RCB’s one-run loss.
After The Loss Smriti Mandhana’s Words:
Richa Ghosh sat crestfallen, her head bowed in despair until comforted by opponents Shafali and Jemimah Rodrigues. DC captain Meg Lanning approached and embraced her in consolation. Smriti Mandhana, visibly distraught, fought back tears as RCB suffered their second consecutive defeat in the tournament.
Smriti Mandhana said, “Tough loss to take. We have seen a lot of Richa in WPL and international cricket, Perry was going well, unfortunately she got run out. The game could have gone anywhere in the last ball and good on Delhi as well to keep their nerve and win. One run does not make us a bad team. Good effort with the shorter boundary to restrict them to 180. We really believed that we could chase this down.”
RCB retains an opportunity to strengthen their bid for a playoff berth with an upcoming match against Mumbai Indians on Tuesday. This crucial fixture could potentially sway their playoff qualification hopes.
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