Lucknow, March 7 Meg Lanning’s highest score in the Women’s Premier League, a 57-ball 92, took the Delhi Capitals to 177/5 in 20 overs against the Gujarat Giants in Match 17, here at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium here on Friday.
It was Lanning’s ninth half-century in the WPL, giving her the record of scoring the most fifties in the tournament's history. Alongside, the Aussie opening batter also reclaimed the top spot for most runs in WPL history by overtaking national team compatriot Ellyse Perry.
Banking on their strong power-play bowling and the chasing team possessing a supreme record so far in the tournament, the Gujarat Giants won the toss and elected to field first. Lanning and Shafali Verma, the most successful opening batting partnership in WPL history, took the Giants to the cleaners in the opening overs.
After a half-chance to dismiss, Shafali went through the hands of Bharti Fulmali, who ran till the fence from mid-off, which she ended up kicking past the ropes for a four. The duo dealt in boundaries and raced to 51/0 by the end of the powerplay.
Shafali was given her second lifeline of the day by Tanuja Kanwar when the left-arm orthodox bowler failed to latch on to a lofted straight drive.
With yet another 100+ opening century inching closer, it was the Indian batter who fell 10 runs short of a seventh WPL half-century, when she was dismissed by Meghna Singh. A slower delivery led to her dismissal as an attempted heave saw Shafali miscue the delivery and hit towards deep mid-wicket for a well-taken catch by Phoebe Litchfield right on the boundary ropes.
Jess Jonassen, who has been in spectacular form since being promoted in the batting order, was once again looking in good touch before Deandra Dottin collected her scalp for the third time in her career. A fuller delivery was completely missed by Jess as the ball castled onto the stumps.
The pressure on the Delhi batters multiplied when Jemimah Rodrigues’s lean run continued when she fell for just four runs. The right-handed middle-order batter was Meghna’s second scalp of the night. Jemimah will certainly be disappointed with the soft method of her dismissal. A full-length delivery saw her chip the ball straight to Garnder at mid-off.
Annabel Sutherland also failed to make an impact when she was caught by Dottin on the boundary. A brilliant forward-lunging catch saw the West Indies all-rounder grab a difficult catch to claim the fourth wicket of the day, Meghna's third.
Meg and Marizanne Kapp took the score past the 170-run mark before the skipper was dismissed eight runs shy of her maiden WPL century with just one ball remaining in the innings.
The Gujarat Giants need to win their remaining two games, including this clash, to secure qualification in the playoffs. If the Ashleigh Gardner-led side does manage to win, it will eliminate the UP Warriorz from the tournament.
Brief scores:
Delhi Capitals 177/5 in 20 overs (Meg Lanning 92, Shafali Verma 40; Meghna Singh 3-35, Deandra Dottin 2-37) vs Gujarat Giants
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