Rosa Simkin (@rosatalksball) – 18/03/24
The 2024 WPL has reached its conclusion and (as expected) we have a new champion, with Royal Challengers Bangalore thrashing the Delhi Capitals to win their maiden title. The final viewed by 23,190 spectators marked the end of the WPLs second season, as the tournament continues to build itself as revolutionary for the game globally from a spectator, to a financial point of view; with the most expensive player in the tournament’s first year, Smriti Mandhana, being sold for INR 3.4 crore (around £320k).
Join me as I take a look back at the tournament from a statistics point of view as well as an in depth review of the final, as it happened; what went wrong for Delhi and how RCB flourished to break that curse.
Order of Content – Match Report of Final, 2024 WPL Award Winners, 2024 WPL Complete Stats (Top Run Scorers, Top Wicket Takers, Boundary Count & More), 2024 WPL Final Standings.
Match Report – Delhi Capitals vs RCB, Final
After beating reigning champions The Mumbai Indians by 5 runs in the eliminator on Friday, RCB joined last year’s finalists The Delhi Capitals in the final, due to be played at Delhi’s home stadium. Allow me to set the scene for you.
First things first, it’s time for the toss, Ravi Shastri hosts it and Meg Lanning takes the coin. Lanning gives it a flick, Mandhana calls for tails but it lands as heads. Lanning elects to bat first, a tactical decision with the aim of giving them their best chance in this game, as she expects the surface will be similar to their previous games at the ground. The Delhi team is unchanged, but that isn’t the story for RCB with batter Sabbhineni Meghana coming in for bowler Shradda Pokharkar, who went unused in the eliminator.
Delhi Capitals XI – Meg Lanning(c), Shafali Verma, Alice Capsey, Jemimah Rodrigues, Marizanne Kapp, Jess Jonassen, Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav, Minnu Mani, Taniya Bhatia(wk) & Shikha Pandey.
Royal Challengers Bangalore XI – Smriti Mandhana(c), Sophie Devine, Sabbhineni Meghana, Ellyse Perry, Disha Kasat, Richa Ghosh(wk), Sophie Molineux, Georgia Wareham, Shreyanka Patil, Sobhana Asha & Renuka Singh Thakur.
The First Innings:
It’s a cool and dark Sunday evening at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, 23,190 spectators watch on in anticipation as the sides enter the field of play. Australia’s Meg Lanning along with fellow opener Shafali Verma head to the middle, as Delhi hope to correct the wrongs of last years final. The atmosphere is electric and the stakes are high as Renuka Singh Thakur takes the new ball, Lanning takes strike. A dot and a wide fill balls one and two, and on the second attempt of the second ball, disaster nearly strikers for the Capitals, miscommunication between the batters nearly leads to a run-out of Lanning at the bowlers end, the through to the bowler is weak however, and Lanning makes it through. 9 come from the first, a good start for Delhi. 10 come from the second, Sophie Molineux’s first but only 3 come off the third, with Ellyse Perry keeping it tight.
The fourth over however is when the batters really start to gel, with 19 off it, followed by 11 off the fifth and 9 from the sixth. A dangerous partnership beginning to build from an RCB perspective, the Capitals sitting at 64/0 from just 7 overs. On comes Sophie Molineux for her second, tossing one up at Verma, the batter standing at 44 from 26 balls. Verma goes after it, searching for the boundary but it doesn’t quite get there, being caught by Georgia Wareham… one down.
Jemimah Rodrigues joins Lanning at the crease, hoping to form another long lasting partnership. A defensive shot on her first ball meets Molineux’s slower delivery, then disaster strikers, Molineux comes in again, the ball holding slightly in the surface and coming off slowly, looping up nicely on a length on middle and off. The stumps shatter… two down.
Alice Capsey is next, as Meg Lanning remains stood at the non-strikers end, some what amused by the drama unfolding before her eyes. Capsey takes strike, with of course Molineux coming in to bowl her fourth of the other. The ball is angled in on a length on middle and off, Capsey is looking to scoop it walking across, the ball however has other ideas moving straight past her bat and clattering into the stumps… three down. After looking down and out in this final RCB have achieved the dream over, all thanks to Sophie Molineux.
The Capitals never quite rebuild, after the consecutive ducks Kapp goes for 8 and Jonassen goes for 3. The Capitals innings ends during the 18th over, as they are bowled out for 113, not a good enough showing in a final. The wickets were shared between an RCB spinning trio. Young star Shreyanka Patil takes four (4/12 from 3.3), Sobhana Asha takes 2 (2/14 from 3.0) and the woman of the moment, Sophie Molineux takes 3 (3/20 from 4.0). The top scorers for Delhi remain their opening duo, with Lanning caught lbw for 23 from 23 and Verma being caught on 44 from 27.
“I really enjoyed bowling in the middle. They got a really good start but we did not let our guard down. We said it was a matter of a wicket. When we got the first, it was about the next and we kept fighting. Enjoyed each and every moment of the first innings. There was something in the wicket. If there is a little turn, I feel I am a different beast.” – RCB’s Shreyanka Patil
The Chase:
RCB’s Smriti Mandhana and Sophie Devine head to the middle, with South African GREAT Marizanne Kapp taking the new ball, with just 113 runs to defend. It’s a positive first over, with Devine throwing her hands at the third delivery which makes its way to the boundary, five come off it.
The second and third over are slow however, the second coming the way of Alice Capsey goes for just 3 runs, with the fird from Shikha Pandey also going for 3. They enter the seventh over on 25/0, requiring 89 from 84 balls and Devine well and truly loosens up this over hitting three 4s and a 6 off Yadav’s bowler.
The rest of the chase is reasonably straight forward for RCB, despite losing the wickets of Mandhana (31 from 39) and Devine (32 from 27). Ellyse Perry and Richa Ghosh did what they do best, albeit it slowly, chasing down the total in 19.3 overs and grabbing victory for RCB. Perry ended the innings on 35* from 37 and Ghosh ended 17* from 14. The wickets for Delhi went to Shikha Pandey and Minni Mani with one each, with RCB ending on 115/2.
“The feeling has not sunk in yet, maybe it will take time. Hard for me to come out with a lot of expression. Only thing I want to say is I am proud of the bunch. We have been through ups and downs but they have stuck at it, and the way we have gotten past the line [tonight], it was amazing. Our Bangalore leg was really good. We had two tough losses [in Delhi]. That is what we talked about. The last league match was like a quarter, then the semi and then the final. In such tournaments, you have to peak at the right time. Last year taught us a lot of things, as a player, as a captain and as a team. The management, the way they backed me during the review after the season…they have been through a lot and a big thumbs up [to them]. For them to have this trophy, it is amazing for them. I am not the only one who has won the trophy, the team has won. For RCB as a franchise to win, it is really, really special.” – RCB captain Smriti Mandhana on the win.
“Disappointing to not get it done tonight. We played some good cricket through the tournament. But it was about not playing well on the day. Congratulations to RCB, they outplayed us. But we can be proud of our efforts throughout. [On their batting collapse] It all happened relatively quickly, as it tends to do. Crazy things happen, and every game has been pretty close. You can never sort of rest and think it is under control because there are so many good teams. They [RCB] deserved the win. [On the message to the DC squad] Just that we have played a lot of good cricket. there was a lot of effort that went in from a lot of people. Want to thank the support staff and the back-room staff. A big thank you. You win some, you lose some. Unfortunately, it was not to be for us tonight.” – Delhi Capitals skipper, Meg Lanning
“Pretty bonkers, to be honest. Just another level for us [as a team] and for women’s cricket. The support all teams have had is phenomenal. The standard of cricket has been amazing and it has been a pleasure to play.” – Australia’s Ellyse Perry on the support from RCB fans
2024 Women’s Premier League – Award Winners
- WPL Title Winner – Royal Challengers Bangalore
- WPL Runner-up – Delhi Capitals
- Orange Cap (Most Runs) – Ellyse Perry
- Purple Cap (Most Wickets) – Shreyanka Patil
- Most Valuable Player – Deepti Sharma
- Emerging Player – Shreyanka Patil
- Best Catch – Sanjeevan Sajana
- Best Strike rate – Georgia Wareham
- Fairplay Award – Royal Challengers Bangalore
- Player of the final – Sophie Molineux
“It was a great match. Finals are always funny games, we knew it was going down to the wire. DC are a great team, they fought all the way. Pretty happy we got over the line. I felt like I was bowing really slow tonight. In tournaments, you have to keep learning [from your mistakes] and look forward to the next game. this one [award] is special. To be picked by RCB after not playing cricket for a while. It is an incredible competition and it is only going to go from strength to strength. Proud to be a part of it.” – Player of the Match, Sophie Molineux
2024 Women’s Premier League – Complete Stats
6s – 66
4s- 295
Top 10 Run Scorers:
- Ellyse Perry (Australia, RCB) – 347 Runs, 9 Innings, 69.4 Average & 125.72 Strike Rate.
- Meg Lanning (Australia, Delhi Capitals) – 331 Runs, 9 Innings, 36.77 Average & 123.04 Strike Rate.
- Shafali Verma (India, Delhi Capitals) – 309 Runs, 9 Innings, 38.62 Average & 156.85 Strike Rate.
- Smriti Mandhana (India, RCB) – 300 Runs, 10 Innings, 30.00 Average & 133.92 Strike Rate.
- Deepti Sharma (India, UP Warriorz) – 295 Runs, 8 Innings, 98.33 Average & 136.57 Strike Rate.
- Beth Mooney (Australia, Gujarat Giants) – 285 Runs, 8 Innings, 47.5 Average & 141.08 Strike Rate.
- Harmanpreet Kaur (India, Mumbai Indians) – 268 Runs, 7 Innings, 53.6 Average & 141.05 Strike Rate.
- Richa Ghosh (India, RCB) – 257 Runs, 9 Innings, 42.83 Average & 141.98 Strike Rate.
- Jemimah Rodrigues (India, Delhi Capitals) – 235 Runs, 9 Innings, 39.16 Average & 153.59 Strike Rate.
- Alice Capsey (England, Delhi Capitals) – 230 Runs, 8 Innings, 28.75 Average & 125.68 Strike Rate.
Top 10 Wicket Takers:
- Shreyanka Patil (India, RCB) – 13 Wickets, 21.3 Overs, 12.07 Average, 7.30 Economy & 9.92 SR.
- Asha Sobhana (India, RCB) – 12 Wickets, 26.0 Overs, 15.41 Average, 7.11 Economy & 13.0 SR.
- Sophie Molineux (Australia, RCB) – 12 Wickets, 38.0 Overs, 23.16 Average, 7.31 Economy & 19 SR.
- Marizanne Kapp (South Africa, Delhi Capitals) – 11 Wickets, 28.0 Overs, 16.0 Average, 6.28 Economy & 15.27 SR.
- Jess Jonassen (Australia, Delhi Capitals) – 11 Wickets, 25.0 Overs, 16.45 Average, 7.24 Economy & 13.63 SR.
- Sophie Ecclestone (England, UP Warriorz) – 11 Wickets, 31.3 Overs, 18.81 Average, 6.57 Economy & 17.18 SR.
- Radha Yadav (India, Delhi Capitals) – 10 Wickets, 25.0 Overs, 18.7 Average, 7.48 Economy & 15.0 SR.
- Tanuja Kanwar (India, Gujarat Giants) – 10 Wickets, 29.0 Overs, 20.7 Average, 7.13 Economy & 17.4 SR.
- Nat Sciver-Brunt (England, Mumbai Indians) – 10 Wickets, 27.0 Overs, 21.5 Average, 7.96 Economy & 16.2 SR.
- Deepti Sharma (India, UP Warriorz) – 10 Wickets, 30.0 Overs, 21.7 Average, 7.23 Economy & 18.0 SR.
More Stats:
Most dismissals (by a wicket-keeper) – Richa Ghosh, 13 (3 Catches, 10 Stumpings)
Most catches (by a fielder) – Radha Yadav, 6.
Highest Total – Gujarat Giants, 199/5 vs RCB
Largest Victory (By runs) – Mumbai Indians, 42 Runs vs UP Warriorz
Final Standings:
Champions – Royal Challengers Bangalore
Runners Up – Delhi Capitals
3rd – Mumbai Indians
4th – UP Warriorz
5th – Gujarat Giants
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