Twitter Reactions: Free-flowing Capitals pile on runs, pressure against Challengers in Bengaluru

Delhi Capitals put on a solid batting display against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first innings of match No. 7 in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Bangalore won the toss and invited Delhi to bat first. Delhi skipper Meg Lanning struggled upfront before getting out to Sophie Devine for a 17-ball 11. However, the exuberant and young duo of Shafali Verma and Alice Capsey turned up the heat with an exhilarating 82-run partnership off just 43 balls.

Shafali registered her second consecutive half-century in the tournament before getting out to Shreyanka Patil. She scored 50 off just 31 balls, hitting three fours and four sixes. Jemimah Rodrigues and Capsey (46 off 33 balls) departed in quick succession as Delhi slipped from 110/1 to 124/4.

However, the experienced duo of Jess Jonassen (36* off 16 balls) and Marizanne Kapp (32 off 16 balls) added 48 runs off just 22 balls for the fifth wicket and put their team in a position of strength. Arundhati Reddy and Jonassen smashed 16 runs off the 20th over to help the Capitals finish on a daunting 194/5 in their 20 overs.

In the bowling department, Devine stood out with excellent figures of 2/23 in her three overs. Nadine de Klerk also bagged a couple of wickets but conceded runs at an economy rate of 8.8 in her four overs. Asha Sobhana was the most expensive bowler for Bangalore as her two overs cost her team 30 runs.

This is now the second-highest total in WPL history and the highest in this edition of the tournament. Smriti Mandhana and Co. will have to pull off the highest run-chase in WPL history. The most number of runs Bangalore have scored in a single innings came against Gujarat Giants in WPL 2023 when they accumulated 190/6, while chasing 202 for a win at the Brabourne Stadium.

Here’s a look at how cricket enthusiasts reacted to DC’s blitzkrieg