Delhi faced their first defeat at the hands of Mumbai in the inaugural edition of the Women’s T20 League. Their batting collapse in the first innings at the DY Patil Stadium never allowed them to stand a chance to get the two points in the match.
Now, team captain Meg Lanning has taken all the responsibility for the loss despite being the top scorer for the team. While she scored 43 runs in 41 balls, only two other batters could manage to score runs in double-digits as Delhi set a target of 106 for Mumbai to chase down.
Lanning blamed herself for scoring too slowly, believing her sluggishness while opening the batting for Delhi set the tone for their miserable day, as a comprehensive eight-wicket loss left Mumbai as the only unbeaten side. Lanning, who had scored a quickfire 72 and 70 in Delhi’s first two wins, struggled to find the same rhythm at the start of the innings as wickets fell around her.
“Unfortunately, at the back end of the innings, we couldn’t put the partnerships together – and I’ll take a lot of blame for that. I took up some balls early and then got out at the crucial time, which was disappointing. We needed a set batter to see us through to the back end and that was the difference really. There’s lots of things to work on … sometimes, it doesn’t go your way,” said Lanning at the post-match presentation.
In the meantime, Mumbai was at its best with the bat and the ball in the game. Thanks to brilliant bowling spells by Saika Ishaque, Issy Wong, and Hayley Matthews, who took three wickets each, Mumbai restricted Delhi to a score of just 105 runs.
The Women in Blue and Gold had an easy time of it in the chase. They got to the target in just 15 overs and with eight wickets to spare. Yastika Bhatia (41 runs in 32 balls) was their top scorer, while Matthews became the second in contention for the Orange Cap with her 32-run knock.
Here is how Twitter reacted to Meg Lannings’ comments
That's the winning mentality right there, that's what some of our men's team players lack forget about women's.
— kuldeep singh (@ksnaruka99) March 9, 2023
I have never seen KL Rahul saying such things even after making India lose World Cups ?
— Shreeman Dhaval ? (@shreemanDhaval) March 10, 2023
I dare Golden Boy KL Rahul to make a statement like this
— R (@KLmyidolo) March 9, 2023
I have never seen KL Rahul saying such things even after making India lose World Cups ?
— Shreeman Dhaval ? (@shreemanDhaval) March 10, 2023
Wow, I just can't see any men's IPL player saying this. No wonder she's a fine leader and such a successful captain for Australia.
She did not have to take all the blame coz others did a lot worse than her but still she did.
What a legend! ??— Rohan Mali (@ro21_9) March 10, 2023
"youngsters didn't have any spark"-this would have been a better statement
— cricket (@rajdev_hirday) March 9, 2023
She's a tremendous captain. But it's pretty evident she's carrying the team alone. They have very few batters. Need others to take up responsibility too
— CrickyBanta (@BuntyBuzz) March 9, 2023
This is what is the mark of a real champion and captain!! DC will bounce back
— Harry (@cricfreac) March 10, 2023
Really appreciative that she took the blame on herself.. Then their are cricketers like KL Rahul who say that SR is overrated ??
— Himanshi Pandey (@Himansh37677326) March 9, 2023
Accepts her mistake unlike tuk tuk dhobi
— Biscuits Sike (@biscuits__sike) March 9, 2023
