Delhi Capitals have overtaken Mumbai Indians to claim the top position in the WPL 2025 leaderboard after a commanding nine-wicket win at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. This victory marks the Capitals’ second triumph over the reigning champions this season, largely thanks to a stellar bowling performance spearheaded by Jess Jonassen, who achieved her sixth three-wicket haul in WPL history.
Despite a traditionally favorable batting pitch, Mumbai Indians were limited to a modest score of 123. The chase was effectively sealed by a powerful opening partnership of 85 runs between Meg Lanning, who remained unbeaten with 60 off 49 balls, and Shafali Verma, who contributed a quick 43 off 28. Delhi Capitals reached the target with 33 balls remaining, significantly boosting their net run rate.
Mumbai Indians entered this crucial top-of-the-table clash with an unblemished record at this venue for the season. Having been asked to bat first, they aimed to set a strong foundation. Their innings began positively with Yastika Bhatia hitting the first delivery from Marizanne Kapp for a boundary. Bhatia and Hayley Matthews provided a steady start, with Matthews finding the boundary four times.
The momentum shifted in the final over of the powerplay when Shikha Pandey delivered a maiden over and dismissed the struggling Yastika Bhatia, who scored just 11 runs off 35 balls, which surprisingly became the highest opening partnership for her team. Mumbai faced another setback in the following over as Annabel Sutherland removed Matthews.
Harmanpreet Kaur initiated her innings with a fortunate boundary off Titas Sadhu and, alongside Nat Sciver-Brunt, began to rebuild the innings. They managed to score 18 runs off Sadhu’s 10th over, indicating an intention to accelerate. However, the return of Jonassen into the attack dramatically changed the game’s trajectory.
Jonassen first dismissed Harmanpreet with an arm ball, which the Mumbai Indians captain missed while attempting a leg-side nudge. The DRS review offered no reprieve. In her subsequent over, Jonassen bowled a deceptive delivery that deceived Sciver-Brunt, who offered a simple return catch. Mumbai Indians struggled to recover from these crucial dismissals and further crumbled under Minnu Mani’s excellent spell. Mani claimed the wickets of S Sajana and Amelia Kerr in the same over, with Sutherland taking a remarkable catch in the deep to dismiss Kerr. Mumbai lost 5 wickets for 23 runs, eventually finishing at 123/9.
The target of 123 was never likely to challenge Delhi significantly, and the opening batters ensured there were no surprises. Lanning started aggressively with two boundaries in the first over from Shabnim Ismail. Verma then attacked Sciver-Brunt in the third over, hitting a powerful six and two fours in a 16-run over. By the end of the powerplay, Delhi had accumulated 57 runs, with the Lanning-Verma partnership achieving their 11th 50-run stand, the highest in the league.
Verma continued her aggressive play, hitting two more sixes in an over from Kerr before being dismissed by Amanjot Kaur in the 10th over. From that point, the chase became straightforward for the Capitals. Captain Lanning secured her eighth half-century of the tournament and remained unbeaten, guiding her team to victory.
Match Summary: Mumbai Indians scored 123/9 in 20 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 22; Jess Jonassen 3-25, Minnu Mani 3-17) and were defeated by Delhi Capitals, who scored 124/1 in 14.3 overs (Meg Lanning 60*, Shafali Verma 43; Amanjot Kaur 1-12) by nine wickets.
