WPL: Shafali, Jess shine as Delhi Capitals reach playoffs, RCB handed 4th successive loss

BENGALURU: Exceptional knocks by Shafali Varma and Jess Jonnasen and fantastic spells from Shikha Pandey and Marizanne Kapp pushed Delhi Capitals to a nine-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in their Women’s Premier League (WPL) match at Bengaluru on Saturday, earning them a place in playoffs.

RCB ended their home run in the WPL without any win, having lost all four of their matches successively, which has made their race to playoffs tougher. DC is at the top, with five wins in seven matches, giving them 10 points.

After being put to field first, RCB lost their skipper Smriti Mandhana early for eight. Partnerships followed between Danni Wyatt-Hodge (21 in 18 balls, with three fours and a six) and Ellyse Perry (60* in 47 balls, with three fours and three sixes) a 44-run stand, and a 66-run stand between Perry and Raghvi Bist (33 In 32 balls, with two sixes), but RCB could make just 147/5 in their 20 overs.

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚍 𝚂𝚞𝚌𝚌𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚃𝚒𝚖𝚎

Delhi Capitals are the first team to add the ‘𝑸’ in the Points Table

Which 2 teams will join #DC? #TATAWPL | #RCBvDC | @DelhiCapitals pic.twitter.com/JKnbl88GQ6

— Women’s Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) March 1, 2025

Kapp (1/18 in four overs), Shikha (2/24 in four overs) and Shree Charani (2/28 in four overs) restricted RCB well. What followed later was an onslaught RCB did not see coming. After Renuka Singh got skipper Meg Lanning early for two, Shafali (80* in 43 balls, with six fours and four sixes) and Jess (61* in 38 balls, with nine fours and a six) unleashed a barrage of hits in their 146-run unbeaten stand, winning the game with 27 balls left.

While DC has arrived to playoffs, RCB can redeem themselves with a win against UP Warriorz on March 8 and Mumbai Indians (MI) in their final league stage game on March 10 at Lucknow. (ANI)