Delhi Capitals Edge Past Mumbai Indians in Thrilling WPL 2025 Encounter
In a pulsating contest that had fans on the edge of their seats, the Delhi Capitals managed to eke out a narrow victory over the Mumbai Indians in a high-stakes match of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025 at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday. The win takes the Capitals to the second spot on the points table, while the Indians drop to fourth.
Batting first, the Delhi Capitals rode on polished half-centuries from openers Jemima Rodrigues (55) and Shafali Verma (52) to post a formidable total of 174 for 5 in their 20 overs. The visitors’ innings was stabilized by the USDA-byte partnership between Rodrigues and Verma, who added 73 for the first wicket before the former was dismissed by Mumbai’s left-arm spinner, McCayla, just as she was threatening to take the game away from the hosts.
The Indian wickets fell in a flurry in the latter half of the innings, with Mumbai’s bowlers taking advantage of the Capitals’ impatience. However, by the time the innings was all out, Delhi had set a stiff target of 175, which ultimately proved to be just out of Mumbai’s reach.
In pursuit of the target, the Indians got off to a flying start, with openers Yastika Bhatia (23) and Sophia Dunkley (22) adding 45 for the first wicket. However, the partnership was broken when Dunkley was trapped leg-before by Capitals’ pacer, Arunika Pattnaik, and the Indian innings began to stutter.
The wickets continued to fall at regular intervals, as Delhi’s bowling attack, led by leg-spinner, Sushree Dibyani (3-19), and pace bowler, Poonam Yadav (2-34), snarled the Indians. Despite a late flourish from captain Harmanpreet Kaur (37), who fell short of a boundary by a single run.
At the end of the match, the Capitals’ victory margin was a nervy 4 runs, which left the pint-sized audience in a frenzy. "It was an intense game, and we knew it wouldn’t be easy," said Delhi’s coach, Jonathan Saumya, in a post-match press conference. "We stuck to our game plan, and the bowlers did the job by picking wickets at crucial junctures."
For the Mumbai Indians, it was a painful defeat that would sting, but the positives were evident in the display of their young players, who acquitted themselves well against a strong opposition. "We knew it was always going to be tough against the top teams, and today was no exception," said Mumbai’s captain, Harmanpreet Kaur. "We fought hard, but their bowlers were very clever, and we couldn’t quite get across the line."
As the Delhi Capitals celebrated their hard-fought win, the, WPL 2025, is now set to head into the home stretch, with the top two teams vying for a spot in the final. The stakes are high, and fans are in for a thrilling ride.
