Second WPL title for Mumbai in three years, Delhi third time unlucky

THIS is the third time now. The four teams in the Women's Premier League fight each other to decide who gets to play in the final against Delhi Capitals.

- KALYANI MANGALE @Chennai

For three seasons, Delhi have topped the table with multiple players standing up for them on different occasions. The side led by former Australian captain, Meg Lanning, has made it to the summit clash of all three editions, only to fall at the final hurdle. Sunday was no different. Neither the way Delhi collapsed nor the result. There was only one difference. This time, Delhi chose to chase the total instead of setting one.

If you had switched off the TV after the powerplay of the first innings, you would have thought that Delhi Capitals had managed to start spectacularly when they gave away just 20 runs in the powerplay. Marizanne Kapp and Shikha Pandey were at their genius best, with the former taking two wickets, including that of Hayley Matthews, who has repeatedly stood up for Mumbai Indians. It was also a well-known fact that if you dismissed either Harmanpreet Kaur or Natalie Sciver-Brunt, Mumbai's lower order, made up of mostly Indian players with relatively less experience, had struggled throughout the tournament. Delhi had only one thing to do and it was not to allow the two experienced batters to form a partnership.