By In the opening match of the 2024 Women’s Premier League, S Sajana made a stunning debut for Mumbai Indians, hitting a six off the first ball she faced and then another six off the last ball of the match. Her heroics helped Mumbai Indians secure a thrilling 4-wicket victory against Delhi Capitals at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.
Delhi Capitals had a slow start, losing Shafali Verma early to Shabnim Ismail, who was also making her debut for Mumbai Indians. Despite a cautious start, Meg Lanning and Alice Capsey struggled to score quickly in the powerplay, managing only 26 runs.
However, Lanning and Capsey picked up the pace in the middle overs, with Capsey playing some aggressive shots. The pitch became easier to bat on in the second half of Delhi Capitals’ innings, and after Lanning was dismissed, Capsey continued to attack, scoring a brisk 75 off 53 balls.
In response, Mumbai Indians got off to a solid start, with Yastika Bhatia scoring a fluent 57 off 45 balls. Harmanpreet Kaur also played a crucial innings, scoring 55 runs. Despite losing wickets at crucial junctures, Mumbai Indians kept the required run rate under control.
With 22 runs needed off the last 13 balls, Delhi Capitals looked to be in control, but a crucial wicket of Amelia Kerr turned the tide in Mumbai Indians’ favor. Harmanpreet Kaur sealed the victory with a six off the penultimate ball of the match.
In the end, S Sajana’s last-ball heroics ensured that Mumbai Indians maintained their unbeaten streak in run-chases, extending it to six games.
Brief Scores: Delhi Capitals 171/5 in 20 overs (Alice Capsey 75, Jemimah Rodrigues 42; Nat-Sciver Brunt 2-33, Amelia Kerr 2-43) lost to Mumbai Indians 173/6 in 20 overs (Yastika Bhatia 57, Harmanpreet Kaur 55; Alice Capsey 2-23, Arundhati Reddy 2-27) by 4 wickets
