RCB VS DC MATCH 7

Right then, that's it from our side. Delhi wins the match and hands the first defeat of the season to Bangalore. However, the action in the Women's T20 League continues on 1st March, Friday, when UP takes on Gujarat in a tasty encounter. That will begin at 7.30 pm IST (2 pm GMT), but as you know, you can join us early for all the build-up to the game. Until then, cheers and goodbye!

Marizanne Kapp wins the Player of the Match and says that she was a bit nervous at the start of the game. Continues that Smriti Mandhana was hitting the ball well and scoring in all areas. But she backed herself and did well in the end. Ends up saying bowling pace on the wicket didn't work for them and for that they had to go short and use more variations.

Meg Lanning, the winning skipper of Delhi says that the outfield was quick and the boundaries were short which helped them to score a big total. She reckons that they did excellent with the bat and kept the momentum going. She praised all the batters and said that the left-right combination worked. They played on their strengths and cam and composed till the end.

Presentation Time...

Jess Jonassen is up for a chat and says that she is really happy to be back on the field and to be a part of the proceedings. She continues that she was looking to build a big partnership with Kapp. She reckons that they were pretty happy with the total but they knew they had to bowl well. Ends up saying they have a variety of players who can come and perform any day.

Smriti Mandhana, the skipper of Bangalore says that the bowlers didn't meet the expectations they made in the first two matches of the season. Continues that it's just one bad day in the tournament and they will surely make a comeback out of it. She reckons that Women's cricket is progressing. She ends up saying that she and her team need to move on as they didn't bowl and field the way they wanted.

Earlier in the game, Delhi displayed a dominant performance by posting a formidable total of 194 runs, the highest in this year's competition. It was through a strong opening partnership between Shafali Verma and Alice Capsey, with Verma scoring a rapid fifty before being dismissed in the 12th over. Capsey also made a significant contribution with the bat, falling short of her half-century. The middle and lower order batsmen, Marizanne Kapp and Jess Jonassen, played crucial roles in accelerating the scoring rate towards the end of the innings. For Bangalore Nadine de Klerk and Sophie Devine picked up two wickets whilst Shreyanka Patil chipped in with one.

Bangalore began the chase on a brisk note! They always had a steep mountain to climb, chasing a target of 195 runs. They got off to a strong start with their skipper Smriti Mandhana and Sophie Devine putting up a formidable 52-run partnership by the end of the powerplay. Mandhana played a stellar innings, reaching her maiden Women's T20 League fifty. Devine fell on 23 runs but Mandhana continued her aggressive batting and scored 74 runs off 43 deliveries before being dismissed in the 13th over. After she fell, the Bangalore Women struggled to maintain momentum and lost wickets at regular intervals. Despite a gritty innings from Meghana, who scored 36 off 31 balls, the team could only manage to reach a total of 169/9 in their allotted overs, falling short of the target by 25 runs.

The Delhi side carry forward the winning momentum to beat the Bangalore side by 25 runs! It was a high-scoring affair here in Bengaluru and the Delhi Women's side hold their nerves to emerge victorious to hand the Bangalore Women, their first loss in the Women's T20 league, 2024. The Delhi side as they have certainly silenced the Bengaluru crowd here! Their bowlers failed to get the best possible start. Once they got both the Bangalore openers, they carried on with the momentum. Jess Jonassen picked up three wickets and all of those came in her last over. Arundhati Reddy and Marizanne Kapp picked up two whilst Shikha Pandey has one in her kitty.

Fullish and around leg. Shreyanka Patil goes for the reverse sweep and misses. She gets hit on the pads. The bowler appeals but the umpire is unmoved. Does not matter, as Delhi win this game comprehensively by 25 runs.

Full and on middle. Renuka Singh punches it to mid-wicket and runs a single.

Renuka Singh to face the hat-trick ball.

OUT! TAKEN! Jess Jonassen is on a hat-trick. Floated full around off. Asha Shobana muscles it towards long on and Annabel Sutherland, the substitute fielder takes a simple catch. One wicket to go to wind up the match.

Asha Shobana is the new batter in.

OUT! CAUGHT! Jess Jonassen has another one in this over! She tosses it up and outside off. Simran Bahadur dances down the ground and muscles it straight towards long off. Meg Lanning there takes an easy catch and in no time, Royal Challengers Bangalore are 8 wickets down.

Full and around off. Shreyanka Patil drives it on long off and takes a single.

Shreyanka Patil is the new batter in.

OUT! TAKEN! Jess Jonassen strikes in the final over. Full and around off. Sophie Devine goes to heave it over deep mid-wicket but Radha Yadav is stationed there. She watches the ball and collects it safely sending Sophie Molineux back to the pavilion.