The Women’s Premier League (WPL) match between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals was anticipated to be an exciting event, as both teams had secured back-to-back victories at the start of the competition. However, the game did not meet expectations on Thursday.
MI, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, proved to be too formidable for Meg Lanning’s DC when it came to batting. After 14 overs, DC found themselves struggling at 85/7, with MI’s Saika Ishaque, an uncapped Indian player, being the most destructive with her bowling, having claimed 3/13 in three overs.
As soon as Harmanpreet Kaur requested her to bowl the second over of the innings, 27-year-old Saika Ishaque from West Bengal made a significant impact. She dismissed the formidable Shafali Verma, who had played aggressively in the first two matches.
In the 13th over, Kaur brought Ishaque back into the attack, and she made a significant impact by taking two wickets in quick succession, which included the dismissals of Lanning and Jemimah Rodrigues.
Lanning and Rodrigues played brilliantly for DC, helping them recover from a shaky start at 31/3. However, their momentum was disrupted by Ishaque, who claimed the crucial breakthrough by clean-bowling Rodrigues with a skidding delivery on her second ball of the over. Three balls later, Lanning was dismissed too, as she hit straight to Kaur, who was positioned at short extra cover.