Lanning, Jonassen and Radha slay Giants to propel Capitals to the top
The skipper struck her first fifty before the spin twins rocked Giants, who suffered their fourth successive loss
The skipper struck her first fifty before the spin twins rocked Giants, who suffered their fourth successive loss
Scorer: Ranjith P | Commentator: Shashwat Kumar
11pm And that will be all from us. The Giants are yet to get off the mark, and will look back at this as a missed opportunity. Lots to celebrate for the Capitals. Not only are they top, but they will also play the rest of their games at home now.
We will be back at it tomorrow with the last game from this Bengaluru leg of the WPL, and fittingly, it features the Royal Challengers Bangalore, with UP Warriorz's challenge lying in wait. Until then, this is goodbye from all of us. Goodnight and take care!
Meg Lanning, Delhi Capitals captain: We felt short, probably about 20 short after the position we got ourselves into. We wanted to take early wickets and put Gujarat under pressure, and it was nice we could do that. I was a little frustrated in the first 30 balls. There were some good match-ups after, and nice to accelerate after that but it is probably something to work on (before the next game). Would have loved to go on for longer. Titas bowled excellently and Shikha has been bowling well for us throughout. Wickets up front certainly helps. You have to keep winning throughout this tournament, and it is going to be very close with the top three. We will enjoy the win because we need to do that. Looking forward to going to Delhi and playing in front of our fans. We don't have much time to think about it, which is a good thing sometimes. Good challenge for us and we are excited about it.
Jess Jonassen, Player of the Match: I have fortunately bowled a lot against them in the nets. They are quality players and they don't give many opportunities. Our bowling group really came together. Radha also bowled well through the middle. Surprised I am up here (with the POTM award) but happy with the win. Meg knows me very well, she knows I love the ball in my hand at any point. I sort of pride myself on my ability to do that. The last 12-18 months have not been the way I wanted it to be, and nice that it looks like it is changing. Tonight, the wicket had a bit of sheen on it. The quicker you bowled, the easier it came on.
Beth Mooney, Gujarat Giants captain: It is disappointing. We would have loved to be on the board but it has not worked out (that way). Had we had a big partnership through the middle, it would have been easier to chase it down. (On the fielding) Our bowling this tournament has been pretty good, to be fair. We have let the bowlers down in the field. Not up to the standards, given how Delhi fielded. (On their batting start) You want to get off to a good start in T20 cricket. the Delhi bowlers bowled well. Had we been 50 for no loss after the powerplay, it might have been a different story. (On how they can change things) Scoring a few more runs will be pretty helpful, probably from the skipper and then flowing through the rest of the team.
Radha Yadav is also the Purple Cap holder. Here is what she has to say: (On the lines and lengths) We had to bowl into the wicket and that is what me and JJ did. It was stopping in the surface and that was our plan. (On their score) We knew the pitch was not easy (to bat on) so we were confident that we would be able to restrict them. (On playing in Delhi and the message to the fans) I would hope that the crowd turns up like they did here. Hopefully women's cricket keeps getting that support. The crowd was crazy (here in Bengaluru). They were supporting every player and that is great for women's cricket.
10:42pm The Giants gave it a good go, but in the end, the Capitals had just enough runs in the bank. It did not help the Giants that three of their overseas batting stars fell without registering a substantial score. The only time they were in the contest was when Gardner threatened to take the game away from last year's finalists. Once she was outwitted by Jonassen, though, there was not really much the Giants could offer in terms of resistance.
The Capitals were pretty good with the ball too. They picked up three powerplay wickets, setting the Giants back early. Jonassen, playing just her second game, bagged a three-wicket haul, including the powerplay scalps of Mooney and Litchfield. Radha also picked up three. Reddy and Pandey rounded off the Capitals' bowling display and they will be pleased with how they fared, especially considering they were missing Kapp.
Five legal balls, and the Capitals will be home
Thakor's two-wicket burst and Deepti's all-round game proved to be the difference between the two sides on the day
"There's probably less pressure and expectation, but I am still extremely competitive"
Winless in their four games in the Bengaluru leg, Giants will need to turn things around when the WPL moves to Delhi
The skipper struck her first fifty before the spin twins rocked Giants, who suffered their fourth successive loss
Hemalatha was hit on her forehead after dropping a catch in the 15th over of the Capitals' innings