Delhi Capitals put up a stellar show to kickstart their WPL campaign on March 5, Sunday. The Meg Lanning-led side crushed Smriti Mandhana's Royal Challengers Bangalore to open their account in the tournament. A grand opening partnership of 162 between skipper Lanning and Shafali Verma gave a perfect start to the Capitals which was then carried forward by Marizanne Kapp and Jemimah Rodrigues.
Although RCB initially looked good with a zippy transaction of runs executed by the openers Smriti Mandhana and Sophie Devine, it was initially Alice Capsey who gave Delhi the first couple of breakthroughs by dismissing both the openers to reduce RCB to 56/2. Veteran Australian cricketer Ellyse Perry then briefly went all guns blazing to catch up to the required run-rate when Lanning introduced Delhi's fifth overseas option, Tara Norris in the middle. From there, Norris stole the show with her breathtaking bowling performance and accelerated Delhi's victory. The USA-born cricketer claimed WPL's first fifer to be under the spotlight.
With Delhi's performance in the very first game of the tournament, the franchise has undoubtedly elicited hope among its fans of bringing the trophy home. With the type of team that Delhi is, it definitely looks within their reach to etch their name on the trophy as the first ever WPL winner. While the men's team hasn't been able to pull it off in 15 years, we look at three reasons why the women's team could end that prolonged drought in the first season itself.
Here are 3 reasons why Delhi Capitals can win the first season of the WPL:
1. World's most successful captain at the helm
Delhi Capitals are led by Meg Lanning who has captained the Australian women's team in 5 T20 World Cups, winning 4 of them. Lanning first assumed captaincy of the Australian team in 2014 and within months, led Australia to their 2nd T20 World Cup title. In just 9 years of her captaincy, Lanning has amassed 1 ODI World Cup trophy, 4 T20 World Cup trophies and 1 Commonwealth Games gold medal.
Putting her captaincy exploits aside, even with the bat Lanning has won matches for Australia. In 2011, she became the youngest player, men and women combined, to score a century for Australia when she played an unbeaten 103-run knock against England to ensure a 9-wicket victory for Australia. Records speak volumes in favour of her batting prowess. She holds the record of scoring the most ODI centuries in women's cricket. Over 12 years of her playing career, Lanning has hit 15 ODI centuries, apart from scoring tons in two T20 matches.
At the WPL auction, Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals indulged in an intense bidding war to acquire her services. Eventually, Delhi signed her for 1.1 crores and unsurprisingly, named her captain for the first season. She thoroughly lived up to the expectations in the first match not just with her captaincy, but even with the bat. She scored 72 runs off 44 balls to script a 162-run partnership with Shafali Verma for the first wicket. Thus, with her firebrand batting and impeccable leadership, Delhi could take huge strides to lift the trophy.
2. Delhi is the only team that is allowed to field 5 overseas players
In the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi capitals fielded 5 overseas players, leaving viewers flummoxed. In fact, in the entire WPL, Delhi Capitals are the only team allowed to play with 5 overseas players.
This exception is made due to the fact that Delhi have a player from an associate nation in Tara Norris. The American was purchased by Capitals for INR 10 lakhs. The BCCI had earlier made it clear that a team would be allowed to field five overseas cricketers if one of them is from an associate nation. Delhi banked on that opportunity to get Norris to their side.
Tara Norris surprised everyone by coming out as a steal and an absolute trump card, that can give the Capitals a serious head-start in the tournament. In her very first match itself, Norris claimed WPL's first fifer to prove her mettle and secure Delhi's bowling department. With Norris being at her best, Delhi will be able to plot a balanced team with five overseas players who could give the other teams a run for their money.
3. Presence of proven match-winners
The Delhi team boasts of an amazing mix of players that have the ability to turn the tide in their favour at any point during the game. Right from the opening pair of Shafali Verma and Meg Lanning to the likes of Tara Norris and Alice Capsey with the ball, everyone knows their role and played it to perfection in the first game.
Players like Capsey, Jess Jonassen and Marizanne Kapp can be match-winners both with bat and ball and thus add immense value to the team. On the other hand, the likes of Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues with their batting-only quality can turn the tables anytime to pitch victory for Capitals.
Radha Yadav, who is one of the most acrobatic players on the field, has spinning variations up her sleeves as well to come in handy for her team. The fast-bowling line-up is laced with fire-powers such as Tara Norris and Shikha Pandey who have shown their skills time and again.
For a better experience: Download the CricTracker app from the IOS App Store and Google Play Store
from CricTracker https://ift.tt/rVKYoRx
No comments:
Post a Comment