Shafali Verma, the swashbuckling opener of Delhi Capitals, put on a spectacular show with her unbeaten 28-ball 76 against Gujarat Giants in Match 9 of Women's Premier League.
WPL 2023: Delhi Capitals vs Gujarat Giants
Marizanne Kapp, the South African pacer, also played a pivotal role in Delhi's win, taking her first fifer of the tournament and restricting Gujarat to a low score.
The match started with Gujarat Giants electing to bat first, hoping to post a competitive score on the board. However, Kapp had other plans, as she ripped apart the top order of the Giants, leaving them reeling at 33 for 6 after just seven overs. Pacer Shikha Pandey supported Kapp with figures of 3 for 26, and the others also applied constant pressure on the Gujarat batters.
Despite the valiant efforts of Kim Garth (32 not out) and Georgia Wareham, Gujarat Giants could only muster a meager score of 106. The lower order of Gujarat Giants did bulk of the scoring, but they couldn't find gaps for boundaries, and no sixes were hit throughout their innings. Kapp finished with figures of 5 for 15, while Radha Yadav, Minnu Mani, and Jess Jonassen also bowled well.
In the chase, Delhi Capitals made their intentions clear right from the start, with Shafali taking a special liking to Ashleigh Gardner, smacking her for four fours and a six in the fourth over to collect 23 runs. Shafali continued her attack, hitting Tanuja Kanwar for a couple of sixes to help Delhi knock off the majority of their target, with 87 runs coming in the powerplay.
Shafali brought up her second half-century in the WPL from just 19 balls, while skipper Meg Lanning remained unbeaten on 21, enjoying the right-handed batter's power hitting, which tore apart the Gujarat's bowling attack. Shafali was in beast mode as she took the Gujarat bowlers to the cleaners, smacking them for 10 fours and five sixes in a knock that came at a jaw-dropping strike rate of 271.43. Such was the impact of Shafali's blitz that Delhi cruised to a 10-wicket victory in just 7.1 overs.
Conclusion:
The victory was Delhi's third of the season, and it consolidated their second position in the points table. The team looked in great form, with Shafali leading the charge with her explosive batting and Kapp proving to be a force to reckon with in the bowling department. Delhi Capitals will look to continue their winning streak as the tournament progresses, with Shafali and Kapp expected to play crucial roles in their upcoming matches.
