Hello everyone, feeling the Monday blues? No more! We바카라™re back with another exciting cricket live blog, and tonight it바카라™s Delhi Capitals vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru in WPL 2025. Stay tuned for all the updates as the clash kicks off at 7:30 PM IST.
Delhi Capitals: Alice Capsey, Arundhati Reddy, Jemimah Rodrigues, Jess Jonassen, Marizanne Kapp, Meg Lanning (C), Minnu Mani, Radha Yadav, Shafali Verma, Shikha Pandey, Sneha Deepthi, Taniya Bhatia, Titas Sadhu, Annabel Sutherland, N Charani, Nandini Kashyap, Sarah Bryce, Niki Prasad
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Smriti Mandhana(c), Danielle Wyatt-Hodge, Ellyse Perry, Raghvi Bist, Richa Ghosh(w), Kanika Ahuja, Georgia Wareham, Kim Garth, Prema Rawat, Joshitha VJ, Renuka Thakur Singh, Jagravi Pawar, Heather Graham, Sabbhineni Meghana, Sneh Rana, Ekta Bisht, Nuzhat Parween, Charlie Dean
Following the contentious run-out incidents in the February 15 match between Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians, the WPL has updated its rules regarding LED bails. From now on, umpires will only consider the wicket broken when both spigots of the bail are fully dislodged, not just when the lights flash.
This change comes after it was found that the bails were lighting up at the slightest disturbance, even when one spigot remained in place. The new rule clarifies that a run-out or stumping decision will be based on the moment the bail is completely off its groove.
This adjustment follows debate over multiple run-out calls in the Capitals-Mumbai game.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru have won the toss and elected to bowl first.
Delhi Capitals Women (Playing XI): Meg Lanning(c), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Annabel Sutherland, Jess Jonassen, Marizanne Kapp, Sarah Bryce(w), Shikha Pandey, Radha Yadav, Arundhati Reddy, Minnu Mani
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women (Playing XI): Smriti Mandhana(c), Danielle Wyatt-Hodge, Ellyse Perry, Raghvi Bist, Richa Ghosh(w), Kanika Ahuja, Georgia Wareham, Kim Garth, Ekta Bisht, Joshitha VJ, Renuka Thakur Singh
Mithali Raj and Anjum Chopra provide pitch insights: The same surface used last evening, with 58 and 50-meter square boundaries and 70 meters down the ground. It's a used surface, but there바카라™s no visible wear and tear. The pitch is hard and well-rolled, and it's expected to skid and keep a little low. There are visible cracks, and if the bowler targets these.
Meg Lanning and Shafali Verma are opening for Delhi Capitals, while Renuka Singh is bowling for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. And just like that, Shafali Verma is gone, what a start for RCB. Verma walks back for a golden duck, dismissed by Renuka Singh. The full delivery swung in on off, and Verma is caught by Mandhana. Shafali Verma departs for 0 off 1 ball.
Jemimah Rodrigues comes to the crease.
DC-W 1/1 (0.2)
Renuka Singh begins her second over, with Richa Ghosh moving up to the stumps as the pacer hunts for another wicket. Lanning, however, is patient, waiting for the swing, and cuts the ball beautifully between the fielders to the third man for a FOUR! Renuka then bowls another wide.
A review is taken, as the ball seemed to swing a lot, but Richa Ghosh appears confident. Lanning stands firm, and the ball is adjudged to be going down leg. Lanning then cuts it again, this time sending it to backward point for another FOUR.
DCW 20/1 (3.3)
Jemimah is handling the damage control as Ekta Bisht comes into the attack. Jemimah sweeps for a single, then follows up with a stunning SIX, sending the ball soaring over the covers. The next delivery sees Jemimah attempt a reverse sweep, but she misses, as does Richa.
DC get a FOUR. Smriti Mandhana fires in a direct hit, but Jemimah looks to have made her ground. The umpire reviews the decision바카라”NOT OUT.
Georgia Wareham is brought into the attack, and on her first ball, she nearly gets Lanning lbw. The very next ball, Jemimah makes room and slashes the ball to long off for a boundary.
Then, a stumping attempt is made! Richa Ghosh is extremely confident that Jemimah is out of her crease, and the decision is sent upstairs. After review, it's given OUT! Jemimah appears to have frozen and failed to get her leg back inside the crease in time.
DCW 62/3 (7.3)
Renuka Singh is on fire! She delivers a perfect ball to Sutherland, who strikes it firmly, but straight to the fielder! It's a big wicket for Renuka as Sutherland, who was looking to raise the tempo, is dismissed.
The ball is pitched up just outside off, and Sutherland drives it beautifully with great timing, but it heads straight to extra cover. Smriti Mandhana takes a sharp catch as it comes at her quickly. Sutherland is out for 19 off 13 balls, including a six.
Wareham bowls her third over and almost takes a wicket! Kapp sweeps and edges it straight to Kanika at short fine leg, but the youngster fails to grab the catch. There바카라™s no boundary in this over.
Kanika continues to bowl, with the batters now relying on quick running between the wickets as the ball comes off the bat very slowly. After a period of frustration, Bryce finally breaks through with a FOUR! She dances down the track and slashes the ball through point for a much-needed boundary.
Wareham is bowling out, and here comes a FOUR! Shikha steps out and swings hard, sending the ball flying over backward point to find the gap for a boundary. But next ball, it's STUMPED. Sarah Bryce steps out of the crease but misses the ball completely, giving Richa Ghosh an easy task to stump her out. Sarah Bryce is dismissed for 23 off 19 balls, stumped by Richa Ghosh, bowled by Wareham.
Radha Yadav now at the crease, but it's another OUT! Radha hits the ball straight back to Wareham, who reacts quickly to take a simple catch.
RCB delivered an impressive all-round performance with both ball and in the field. While Kanika Ahuja missed a couple of chances, the team바카라™s overall execution was near perfect.
Delhi Capitals began strongly, with Jemimah Rodrigues contributing a smooth 34, but the momentum shifted dramatically after the powerplay. From a comfortable 60/1, DC바카라™s batting crumbled to 105/6, thanks to brilliant bowling from spinners Georgia Wareham and Ekta Bisht, who turned the tide in RCB바카라™s favor.
Renuka Singh Thakur receives her Purple Cap: "In recent series, I바카라™ve received a lot of support, which helped me anticipate some swing here. I came with a wicket-taking mindset."
She added, "This time, I바카라™ve focused heavily on my fitness, and my goal is to pick wickets in the powerplay since the last two WPL seasons weren바카라™t ideal for me. Whenever possible, I go to the NCA and work with Troy [Cooley], and I바카라™m very comfortable with him. As for the chase, the wicket isn바카라™t easy, with the ball holding on the surface, but I believe we can chase this down."
Smriti Mandhana and Danni Wyatt-Hodge open the batting for RCB, with Marizanne Kapp taking the ball. Both openers get off the mark with singles, while Shikha Pandey saves two runs at fine leg.
Minnu Mani bowls her first over, and Smriti Mandhana wastes no time, slogging the ball over mid-wicket to find the boundary for a FOUR.
Shikha Pandey with her third over, nearly grabs a wicket, but Wyatt-Hodge바카라™s swing sails over the short third man fielder for a FOUR! A wide delivery follows, and Wyatt-Hodge sends it over point for another boundary. Nine runs off the over, prompting a much-needed timeout for the Capitals.
Marizanne Kapp returns to the attack, but Wyatt-Hodge makes her presence felt. A crisp strike, effortlessly turning on the shot, sends the ball soaring over deep mid-wicket for a massive SIX! Kapp follows up with another pace-off delivery, but Wyatt-Hodge is ready바카라”this time lifting it over covers for a FOUR!
At last, Delhi Capitals break through. Jemimah Rodrigues redeems herself as DC grab their first wicket, but the match seems to have already slipped away.
RCBW 107/1 (11)
Smriti Mandhana바카라™s dazzling knock comes to an end! She attempts a cheeky scoop over the keeper but ends up finding Arundhati Reddy at short fine leg. A brilliant 81 off 47, laced with 10 fours and 3 sixes, but the fun stops here as Shikha Pandey gets the breakthrough.
Smriti Mandhana's 81 is the second-highest score by an RCB batter in WPL history, behind Sophie Devine's 99 against GG at Brabourne in 2023.
RCBW 133/2 (15.1)
Richa Ghosh finishes in style with a SIX! A statement win from the defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who remain the only unbeaten side in WPL 2025. A proper NRR boost for Mandhana's side.
The bowlers set the tone, with Renuka Singh and Georgia Wareham bagging three wickets each to restrict DC to just 141. From there, Smriti Mandhana and Danni Wyatt-Hodge made light work of the chase, stitching a blazing 107-run opening stand. RCB proving once again why they wear the crown.
Renuka Singh Thakur, Player of the Match, said: "This ground holds special memories for me바카라”I was named Player of the Tournament here before. The crowd is always fantastic, which makes it even better. I've been working on several aspects of my game, especially increasing my pace and adding more variations to my bowling. Fitness is a big focus for me as well, ensuring I stay in top shape to execute my plans effectively."
That's a wrap, folks. We바카라™ll catch you all in the next live blog. Until then, bye bye and good night.