‘Abhi toh Party shuru hui hai’ – Fans react as Delhi defeat UP to qualify for Women’s T20 League final

The 20th and final encounter of the group stage of the Women’s T20 League was played between the Delhi franchise and the UP side on Tuesday, March 21 at the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai. The Delhi franchise won the match with five wickets in hand and England’s Alice Capsey was awarded the Player of the Match award for her brilliant all-round performance.

With this victory, Delhi got directly qualified for the final and the Mumbai and UP franchises will face off against each other in the Eliminator which is scheduled to take place on Friday, March 24, at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy, Navi Mumbai in order to book their place against the Delhi franchise on Sunday, March 26 at the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai. 

Talking about the fixture, Delhi skipper Meg Lanning won the toss and opted to bowl first. Batting first, the UP openers, Alyssa Healey and Shweta Sehrawat provided a decent start to the side. They went on to score 30 runs in 25 balls before the latter was dismissed by left-arm spinner Radha Yadav. 

Alice Capsey and Marizabnne Kapp took Delhi to final

The UP side ended their innings at a score of 138 runs with the loss of six wickets. The top scorer for the side was Australia all-rounder Tahila McGrath, who scored unbeaten 58 runs off 32 balls with eight fours and two sixes. Their skipper Healy also scored crucial 36 runs from 34 balls which includes 4 fours and a six.

For the Delhi side, the pick of the bowlers was Capsey, who snapped three wickets in her spell of four overs and conceded 26 runs in her spell. Two wickets were also taken by Radha and one by Australian left-arm spinner, Jess Jonassen with conceding 28 runs and 24 runs respectively in her spell’s of four overs.

While chasing a target of 139 runs, Delhi openers Lanning and Shefali Verma kicked off the inning with an attacking approach as they both together put a partnership of 56 runs off 29 balls before Shafali was sent back to the pavillion, scoring 21 runs off 16 balls with 4 fours.

Delhi chased down the target in the 18th over. Their skipper was the best performer with the bat as she slammed 39 runs from 23 balls with five fours and two sixes. Capsey and Marizanne Kapp also scored valuable 34 runs each.

Here’s how fans reacted on Delhi’s victory: