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WPL 2024 BAN-W vs DEL-W Match highlights: Delhi Capitals hand Royal Challengers Bangalore first loss of tournament

RCB had to pull off a record chase to maintain their winning streak, but Delhi Capitals were at their best.

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Mathew K
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RCB vs DC WPL 2024

RCB vs DC WPL 2024

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) suffered their maiden loss in the Women's Premier League (WPL). They had to pull off a record chase to maintain their winning streak, but Delhi Capitals were at their best. Meg Lanning and Co. won by 25 runs at the Chinnaswammy Stadium on Thursday (February 29) to register their second consecutive win. 

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RCB entered the match on the back of a thumping 8-wicket win over Gujarat Giants. On the other hand, DC came on the back of thrashing UP Warriorz by 9 wickets. With history favouring the chasing team, RCB captain Smriti Mandana won the toss and elected to field first. 

Delhi got off to a sluggish start but once Alice Capsey entered the crease, the RCB bowlers could not control the game. A collective batting effort helped them post a huge score of 194/5 on the board. In reply, RCB were reduced to 169/9 in 20 overs.

Here are the key moments of the game

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- RCB paid the price for dropping Shafali Verma

- Alice Capsey's quick-fire century 

- Georgia Wareham's sensational one-handed save 

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- RCB struck by consecutive wickets 

- Marizanne Kapp and Jess Jonassen's strong finish 

- Smriti Mandhana went blazing at the top of the order

- S Meghana's slow knock 

RCB paid the price for dropping Shafali Verma

Delhi had a poor start as skipper Meg Lanning and Shafali Verma struggled to find runs. Verma was dropped early on and RCB had to pay the price for it. She smashed a superb fifty (50 off 31 balls) while building a fine partnership with Alice Capsey. Lanning's struggle came to an end in the fifth over as she was dismissed by Sophie Devine for 11 runs off 17 balls. 

Alice Capsey's quick-fire century 

After a slow start, Delhi and Verma woke up with the arrival of Capsey to the crease. The English cricketer started firing from the word go and smashed 46 runs off 33 balls. She hit 2 sixes and 4 boundaries to accelerate their scoring. Capsey and Verma put on an 80-plus stand to take the game away from RCB.

Georgia Wareham's sensational one-handed save 

RCB's bowling all-rounder made a sensational one-handed save on the boundary line, emulating franchise legend AB de Villiers' stunning acrobatic catch in IPL 2018. Shafali Verma tried to hit a full-length delivery from pacer Nadine de Klerk into the stands. But Wareham, stationed near the boundary line of the deep-mid-wicket region, flew in the air to pull the ball back into the field and save her side crucial runs.

RCB struck by consecutive wickets 

Shreyanka Patil got rid of dangerous Verma in the 12 over and the very next over Nadine de Klerk dismissed Jemimah Rodrigues for a four-ball duck. Capsey was also sent packing a couple of overs later and seemed like RCB slowly gaining control of the game. 

Marizanne Kapp and Jess Jonassen's strong finish 

With Capsy's dismissal, DC were 124-4 in 15 overs. From that stage, they ended the innings on 194. Effective cameos from lower-order batters Marizanne Kapp and Jess Jonassen gave DC a strong finish that dashed RCB's hopes.

Smriti Mandhana went blazing at the top of the order

The target was a tough one, but RCB were in the hunt when their skipper Smriti Mandhana went berserk at the top of the order. The southpaw kept her team's chances alive with her maiden fifty (74 off 43 balls) in the WPL. She put on an opening partnership of 77 runs before Devine was dismissed in the ninth over.

S Meghana's slow knock 

Sabbhineni Meghana struggled to get going at number three and her 31-ball 36 hampered the scoring rate of RCB. This put a lot of pressure on the rest of the batters. There was no significant contribution from any of the batters and RCB were restricted to 169 for 25 runs.

Final analysis 

With their maiden defeat, RCB slipped to second position in the points table. Meanwhile, Captials, who registered back-to-back wins, climbed to the table top, thanks to their higher net run rate. 

Delhi Capitals RCB WPL