Arun Jaitley Stadium: With 15 runs needed off 12 balls, Delhi Capitals were fancied to meet the equation and take a win over UP Warriorz to seal their qualification for the 2024 WPL knockouts. But what followed was something unimaginable, as Delhi went from 124/4 to 137 all out, to lose the match by a solitary run.
After the match ended, head coach Jonathan Batty admitted the table-toppers had chances to finish the chase earlier instead of taking it deep, but the batters fell in a heap to lose a match which they should have won.
“I am trying to work out what happened in those last couple of overs at the moment. Cricket is a crazy game and I don’t think anything surprise me anymore in terms of what can happen in terms of the end of a game once the pressure is on. I think we had quite a few opportunities to finish off the game and close it out before the last couple of overs came.”
“But there was a bit of implosion and that happens in T20 cricket at times. Full credit to UP for hanging in there and getting over the line at the end. But I think we had the moments where we could have closed out the game a little earlier,” said Batty in the post-match press conference.
On a sluggish pitch at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Meg Lanning kept Delhi steady with 60 off 46 balls, laced with 12 boundaries. But after she became one of the scalps in Deepti Sharma completing her hat-trick and then returned to take out Annabel Sutherland and Arundhati Reddy on first two balls of the 19th over yielding three scalps, the complexion of the game went the Warriorz way.
“Nothing specific (in message to the batters before the back-end overs). Just the usual stuff and the bowlers we could potentially target and how to manage the run-rate going into that chase. On reflection, we did a lot of really good things during the game, especially in bowling, when Titas (Sadhu) swung the ball brilliantly, while Aru (Arundhati Reddy) and Radha (Yadav) were fantastic again as well.”
“So, we were really happy halfway through the match and as a batting unit, we felt being reasonably in control for a lot of time. But then pressure came in and the ball goes in the air and drops in the space, so we could have been in the game. It’s one of those things and hopefully, it’s a blip as we are still at the top of the table,” added Batty.
Previously in the match, Delhi had put up a disciplined bowling performance to keep the Warriorz to 138/8, thanks to Radha Yadav and Titas Sadhu taking two wickets each. Radha who took only four wickets in WPL 2023, has taken ten wickets in six games of the current edition to be the joint leading wicket-taker alongside her team-mate Jess Jonassen.
“Radha is a fantastic cricketer and she did well for us last year at times. She worked very hard during the winter and has burst out on WPL this year in fine form. She’s full of confidence and is bowling really well; she’s done hard work really and nothing specific. She’s been a fantastic cricketer when she first played for India and is more confident at the moment, which has now come out in the games,” added Batty.
On the other hand, Titas spent WPL 2023 on the sidelines for Delhi. She went on to shine in her India debut in T20Is, playing a pivotal role in the Asian Games gold medal win and a delightful four-wicket haul in the T20I series opener against Australia earlier this year.
“Titas is a fantastic cricketer, still very young. She worked really hard last year and was disappointed not to play in the team. We knew she was ready if needed to come in and perform fantastically, like she’s doing at the moment.”
“She’s worked very hard on her fitness and consistency and has done brilliantly well for India as well during rest of the season. She’s going to be an absolute superstar and is improving the way she is; I am absolutely delighted with the way she’s going,” stated Batty.
He signed off by being optimistic about Delhi taking a win against the Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday, after having beaten the Smriti Mandhana-led side in the first leg of WPL 2024 in Bengaluru.
“We had a great game with them back in Bengaluru, so we look forward to see them on Sunday. We would love to have a full house and a sell-out crowd for the game. RCB has got a fantastic set of players, so do we and now look to match up and take the game to them as we did in Bangalore.”
