🏏WPL 2024: Match 7: RCB W vs Delhi Capitals W🏏 - Page 9

Jess Jonassen - To be very honest, I was just happy to be back on the field and be a part of the proceedings. We knew we needed a big score with the quality they had. I was just looking to build a partnership with Kapp, she was going well and that rubbed off on the rest of us. We were happy with the total, but we knew we had to bowl well. RCB have a very good batting line-up and the way Smriti started, she put us under pressure, but we remained calm and ended on the winning note. We've a great variety of players who can come and do a job on any given day, that's the beauty of this Capitals team

Marizanne Kapp | Player of the Match - Tonight, I was a bit nervous, thinking that you'll have to bowl on this wicket. Smriti was hitting the ball well, scoring in all areas and I just backed myself. I would love to play straight, down the ground. We batted well as a group. Bowling pace on that wicket made it sit up to be smacked, so we had to go short and use more variations.

Meg Lanning - It was a reasonable wicket, quick outfield and short boundaries,so you come to the ground expecting a high-scoring contest. I think we did an excellent job with the bat, kept the momentum going, Shafali, Capsey, Kapp and JJ kept us ahead, with the left-right combination working. 'Play to your strengths' is what I'd say. When you are defending 200, you need to keep your cool and be calm. You'll have to stay in the match and I think the girls did well to come back into the contest. Both players have good experience (on choossing Jonassen ahead of Sutherland), it's difficult to nail in 4 of them - with JJ, she can hold her nerve and she was excellent with both bat and ball. 

Every team has lost at least one match now and the league phase looks tasty as we get towards the halfway mark. Gujarat Giants are the only team to win a game as yet and they'll look to log in their first points when they take on the Warriorz tomorrow

DC-W

194/5

RCB-W

(20 ov, T:195) 169/9

DC Women won by 25 runs

Congrats DCW

Phew. What a game. RCB gave it a proper rattle at the start, largely courtesy their skipper, who creamed her way to 74 off 43. Around her, though, there was not a lot, and that is what RCB were left ruing at the end. Devine and Meghana struggled, and while Ghosh did get a few boundaries away, her innings did not last long enough to really trouble the Capitals. Their batting unit also looked a little thin, especially as the death-overs dawned, and RCB ended up losing their last six wickets for just 19 runs.

Much of that was down to how disciplined the Capitals were. Apart from the odd No ball and the odd dropped chance, they executed their plans to perfection, using the longer side to their advantage as often as they could. Jonassen and Kapp, who played a big role in DC getting up to 194, picked up the bulk of the wickets. Kapp, in particular, was sensational, first knocking over Mandhana and then outwitting Ghosh. Jonassen, on the other hand, gave nothing away in the 18th and 20th over, and consigned RCB to their first loss of the season.

Jess Jonassen: (Mindset when she went into bat) To be honest, I was just happy to be back on the field. There was not too much thought, just trying to put together a partnership with Kapp. (On the score they got) We were pretty confident. We new it was a good total, but we also knew we had to bowl well. The way Smriti came out, it put us on the back foot. We had to keep our composure throughout and hope the result went our way. We have got a great variety of players who can step up and do a job on any given night against any opposition.

Smriti Mandhana, Royal Challengers Bangalore captain: (On the target) The way we bowled in the first two matches, we did not live up to our bowling. One bad game in a tournament like this…we will have to take whatever we can from this game and come back strongly. After the first innings, we felt they were plus-15 (in terms of runs). (On her playing through the leg-side more) With the way women's cricket is progressing, had to put in a bit of work into my leg-side shots. The boundary was short too and my eyes were constantly on it. (What they plan to work on) Won't be too critical because it is just one game. We did not bowl and field according to our standards. Hurrying up in the fielding. And when there is a big crowd, it is a challenge to maintain attention, and that is also something we will have to work on. That one extra fielder out might have made a difference.

Meg Lanning, Delhi Capitals captain: It looked like a reasonable wicket and the outfield is quick, so you come to the ground expecting plenty of runs. It is about restricting as many as a bowling unit. We did an excellent job with the bat, were able to keep the momentum going. Capsey and Shafali were great, Kapp and JJ too. Play to your strengths. Playing good shots gets you rewards here. As long as they are playing to their strengths, we will back them. When you are defending nearly 200, you need to stay as calm as you can. Going at that rate for 20 overs is tough. A couple of wickets makes it tough. Reddy bowled well, Kapp too. Just know that if you stick to it long enough, you will come through. Tough call (with selection). JJ came in and was excellent. Under pressure, she showed she can hold her nerve, nice to see her do well.