Shafali Verma
The Meg Lanning-led Delhi Capitals got back to winning ways after they emerged victorious by 10 wickets against Gujarat Giants in match 9 of the ongoing Women’s Premier League (WPL) at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai on Saturday, March 11.
Following the dismal outing against table-toppers Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals outrightly dominated Gujarat Giants in their latest clash. Sneh Rana won the toss and decided to bat first. However, the decision swiftly backfired as Delhi’s Marizanne Kapp dented the rival batting line-up which kept Gujarat reeling throughout the innings.
In under 35 runs, Delhi claimed six wickets as Kapp produced arguably one of her best spells with the ball. She returned magnificent bowling figures of 5/15 in her four overs and by virtue of the same she became the third bowler in the WPL with a five-wicket haul.
In addition to that, Shikha Pandey joined the party and snared a three-wicket haul to restrict Giants to a meagre 105 runs. Meanwhile, Gujarat star all-rounder Kim Garth top-scored for the side and remained unbeaten with her 37-ball 32.
Supreme show from Shafali Verma during chase
Delhi already seemed to be the favourites to win the contest after Kapp’s outstanding bowling spell. However, it was Shafali Verma, who displayed her aggressive side with the bat to steer the side to a comprehensive win.
Right from the word go, the 19-year-old single-handedly energised the crowd with her scintillating batting performance. The explosive batter got her fifty off just 19 balls which included eight boundaries and two maximums.
However, Shafali did not stop just there as she kept asserting her dominance while the rival team had no clue to counter her aggressive batting style. Meanwhile, skipper Meg Lanning just kept rotating the strike and decided to witness the ‘Shafali-show’ as did Gujarat Giants.
Stitching an unbeaten 107-run partnership with Lanning and top-scoring in the contest with 76* runs off 28 balls, Shafali guided her side to a ten-wicket win.