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Sanjana's final ball heroics kicked off Mumbai Indians Women's Premier League campaign with a four-wicket victory against the Delhi Capitals on Friday at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
While Alice Capsey struck 75 and even proved to be a class act with the ball, it was Sanjana who stole the show with a single hit on the final ball to clinch a four-wicket win for the defending champions. DC struck early with Marizanne Kapp removing dangerous Hayley Matthews for a two-ball duck. Mumbai Indians didn't let their heads drop with Yastika Bhatia taking the onus of scoring runs. MI finished the powerplay with a score of 50/1 but DC bounced back immediately with Arundhati Reddy dismissing Nat Sciver-Brunt (19) before her innings could take flight. Yastika stitched up a crucial 56-run stand with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur to steady MI's sinking ship. Yastika (57) raised her bat after completing her half-century but lost her wicket moments after as Reddy struck once again to bag her second wicket of the night. Harmanpreet and Amelia Kerr added 44 runs to the board but Shikha Pandey used her experience to break the partnership. She breached Kerr's defence to end her time on the crease for a score of 24. With two overs left, MI needed 22 runs to get across the finishing line. On the final ball of the second last over, Harmanpreet sent the ball flying into the stands to complete her fifty and bring the equation down to 12 runs in 6 balls. Skipper Meg Lanning handed the ball to Alice Capsey to see off the game for DC. She struck on the first ball and claimed Pooja Vastrakar's wicket. Amanjot Kaur rotated the strike to bring Harmanpreet back on the strike. With fire in her eyes and ice in her veins, Harmanpreet picked up a boundary to bring down the equation to 5 runs in 2 balls. Capsey had the last laugh by stealing Harmanpreet's moment of glory and ended her stay on the crease for 55 (34). With six needed to win the game, Sajana on her first delivery of the night, struck the ball sweetly with sheer power to win the game for MI. Earlier in the innings, after MI won the toss and opted to field, DC openers Shefali Verma and skipper Meg Lanning came out to the crease to open the innings. However, the team didn't get the start that they wanted as the side lost Shefali when the team score was just 3 runs. After the fall of Shefali's wicket, right-hand batter Alice Capsey came to bat along with Lanning. Both the batters completed a 50-run partnership as Lanning slammed a six off Amelia Kerr's bowling on the first ball of the ninth over. Lanning was sent back to the dressing room after scoring 31 runs from 25 balls, which was laced by three fours and a six in the 11th over when the team score was 67 runs. After the skipper's wicket, Jemimah Rodrigues came to bat. Both the batters built a partnership of 74 runs from 40 balls before Capsey was dismissed after playing a brilliant knock of 75 runs from 53 balls with the help of nine boundaries and three sixes in her innings. Rodrigues scored crucial 42 runs off 24 balls with five fours and two sixes. Kapp scored 16 runs off nine balls in the end with the help of three fours. For the Mumbai Indians side, the pick of the bowlers was Nat Sciver Brunt and Amelia Kerr, who snapped two wickets each in their spells where they conceded 33 and 43 runs respectively. One wicket was taken by Shabnim Ismail in her spell of four overs, where she conceded 24 runs. Brief Score: Delhi Capitals 171/5 in 20 overs (Alice Capsey 75, Jemimah Rodrigues 42, Nat Sciver-Brunt 2/33) vs Mumbai Indians 173/6 (Harmanpreet Kaur 55, Yastika Bhatia 57; Arundhati Reddy 2-27). (ANI)
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