The race for the playoffs may have been decided in the WPL but the battle for top spot, which guarantees a direct entry into the final, is going down the wire. The contenders are current table-toppers Mumbai Indians and the Delhi Capitals. Spearheaded by their classy trio of pacers Marizanne Kapp (2-13 in 4 overs), Shikha Pandey (2-21 in 4 overs) and left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen (2-25 in 4 overs), a fired-up Delhi Capitals restricted a rather shoddy MI to just 109/8 in 20 overs after putting them in on Monday night at the DY Patil Stadium. Needing to overhaul this lowly target in just 11 overs to overtake MI to occupy the No. 1 position, the Capitals did the needful, as skipper Meg Lanning (32 not out), Shafali Verma (33) and Alice Capsey (38 not out) ensured that their team galloped home in 9 overs. DC’s thumping nine-wicket win over MI - their fifth overall in the tournament - meant that Lanning & Co. dislodged MI to be perched at the top spot in WPL for the first time. They now must beat UP Warriorz, while hoping that MI go down to RCB in the earlier match of the day.
Harris, McGrath take Warriorz into playoffs
At 39/3 it looked like UP Warriorz would hit the panic button and go into a tailspin. But Tahlia McGrath and Grace Harris steadied their innings and hit well-crafted half-centuries to guide Warriorz to a three-wicket win over Gujarat Giants and seal a WPL playoff spot on Monday. The win for Warriorz, who moved to eight points from seven games, means Gujarat Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore have been knocked out of the competition. Warriorz lost Alyssa Healy, Kiran Navgire and Devika Vaidya inside five overs and suddenly the target of 179 looked steeper than it was. But the pair of McGrath (57) and Harris (72) shared a fourth-wicket stand of 78 from 53 balls to set-up Warriorz’s fourth win of the tournament. In their last match, they will play Delhi Capitals.
