Bangalore got off to a shaky start in the Women’s T20 League after conceding 223 against Delhi in their campaign opener. Delhi’s opening batters started brilliantly, with skipper Meg Lanning scoring 72 off 43 while her partner Shafali Verma scored 84 off 45. Marizanne Kapp remained unbeaten on 39 off 17, while Jemimah Rodrigues remained unbeaten at 22 off 15 as Delhi reached 223/2 at the end of their quota of 20 overs.
For Bangalore, Heather Knight remained the pick of the bowlers picking up both wickets in the game. However, the Bangalore bowlers went for many runs, and Knight herself conceded 40 in her three overs. Interestingly, the Bangalore men’s side conceded 222 runs against the Kolkata franchise in their first-ever Indian T20 League game. At the same time, the women’s team conceded one more run.
Delhi’s Tara Norris took a five-wicket haul
In their reply, Bangalore was given a good start by star openers Smriti Mandhana and who scored a quick-fire 35 off 23. However, her opening partner Sophie Devine was dismissed cheaply at 14 off 11 balls. Elysse Perry also got a start but could not convert her 31 off 19 into a big score as Bangalore batters started to struggle against Delhi’s bowling attack.
Heather Knight put in a fighting knock of 34 off 21, but Bangalore could only reach 163 within their quota of 20 overs. Meghan Schutt also tried to improve the net run rate with 30 off 19. Tara Norris remained the pick of the bowlers for Delhi, returning with impressive figures of 5/29 off her four overs as Delhi registered their first win of the season by 60 runs.
In the season’s opening game, Mumbai thrashed Gujarat by 132 runs. Gujarat could only manage 64 runs in reply after conceding 207 runs to Mumbai. Therefore, the match between Bangalore and Delhi is the second consecutive game to see 200+ runs registered on the scoreboard by a side. In the first doubleheader of the Women’s T20 League, Gujarat and UP will be in action from 7:30 PM onwards at the DY Patil Stadium for the day’s second game.
Here’s how fans reacted to Delhi’s dominance over Bangalore:
E sala Cup gandme
— R.? (@Extracover7) March 5, 2023
RCB Men's Team ?? RCB Women's Team losing the first game
— Anand Sagar (@_anand_sagar) March 5, 2023
RCB women's carrying the Legacy of Men's team.
— dc (@happyhureh) March 5, 2023
— ?s??s? k (@UrstrulyAshish3) March 5, 2023
No 18 jersey and this humiliation of defeat goes hand to hand ?… pic.twitter.com/wtBko8OUTX
— RAKSHIT (@Imrakshit45) March 5, 2023
RCB ?? as usual Chokcb pic.twitter.com/0buwFZvwXV
— S U Y A S H ?????? (@suyash_padwal) March 5, 2023
Had this Vadapav played today, DC could have never scored 223 runs pic.twitter.com/89MSZ6T71D
— Nisha ? (@NishRo45) March 5, 2023
Argentina lost their first match in WC and rest is history
Just wait and watch ? pic.twitter.com/JoWH30mE69— Shivam Rajput (@shivamRajput_18) March 5, 2023
