Mumbai Indians have won the first title of the Women’s Premier League.
After winning the toss, Delhi Captain Meg Lanning and Shafali Verma also came on the pitch thinking of victory from Delhi Capitals.
Shafali, who has the highest strike rate among the top 10 batters of the tournament, had expressed her intentions as soon as she arrived. In the second over itself, Shafali had hit a four and a six to Wong, but was caught on the third full toss ball.
Delhi Capitals captain Meg and Shafali both felt that it was a no ball. The third umpire also gave the decision in favour of Mumbai Indians. But it is clearly visible in the replay that the umpire’s decision is wrong. Many fans were also seen expressing their displeasure against the umpire’s decision on social media.
Shafali returned to the pavilion after scoring 11 runs on four balls. In the same over, Alice Capsy, who came in place of Shafali, also caught a full toss ball without opening the account. After this, the sequence of falling wickets went on till the last few overs. In the last over, the pair of Shikha Pandey and Radha Yadav did wonders and took Delhi Capitals to a respectable score of 131 runs.
In the tournament, Shafali scored 252 runs in 9 matches at a strike rate of 185.29. She scored a blistering 84 against RCB, which is her highest score in this tournament.
Chasing the target of 132 runs was not looking easy even for Mumbai Indians. In the very second over, Yastika Bhatia was dismissed on a personal score of four runs.
But captain Harmanpreet and Nate Siever-Brunt made a good partnership. After the dismissal of Harmanpreet Kaur, Brunt stood firm and eventually returned unbeaten after winning. She was chosen as the player of the match.
Meg Lanning’s Delhi Capitals team may have lost the final, but Meg has batted well throughout the tournament and won the Orange Cap. Meg has scored the highest 345 runs in 9 matches which includes 2 half-centuries.
Hayley Mathews of Mumbai Indians was declared the ‘Most Valuable Player of the Season’ for her brilliant all-round performance. Along with this, Mathews also has a purple cap for taking 16 wickets in the tournament.
