Minnu Mani's best WPL bowling performance gives Delhi solid win over Mumbai

Bengaluru: Delhi Capitals continued their dominant performance in the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2025, securing a comprehensive nine-wicket victory over the Mumbai Indians at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Friday. A brilliant knock by Meg Lanning and a disciplined bowling attack led by Minnu Mani helped Delhi to overthrow Mumbai's defences, helping them to reach the top of the points table. 

After winning the toss and opting to bat, Mumbai Indians struggled against a disciplined Delhi Capitals bowling unit. Despite a steady start from Yastika Bhatia and Hayley Matthews, Mumbai's innings never gained significant momentum. Minnu Mani (3/17)  and Jess Jonassen (3/25) were the standout bowlers for Delhi. It was Minnu's best bowling figures in the WPL.

Minnu claimed the wicket of fellow Malayali Sajana Sajeevan, dismissing her for five runs. She also dismissed Amelia Kerr for just 17 runs, with Annabel Sutherland taking a stunning catch. She went on to take the wicket of Sanskriti Gupta, completing a three-wicket haul.  

Mumbai’s start was promising, with Bhatia flicking Marizanne Kapp for a boundary in the opening over and Matthews driving fluently. However, Shikha Pandey struck in the sixth over, dismissing Bhatia (11 off 10) with a catch behind the stumps by Sarah Bryce.

At 35/1 after the powerplay, Harmanpreet Kaur and Nat Sciver-Brunt tried to stabilize the innings, but Annabel Sutherland’s tight bowling kept the scoring rate in check. This led to the crucial dismissal of Matthews (22 off 25), who mistimed a shot to Shafali Verma at mid-off.

Titas Sadhu and Jonassen then took control. Sadhu nearly dismissed Harmanpreet early, but an outside edge raced for four. Harmanpreet tried to accelerate, hitting Jonassen for a six, but Jonassen had the last laugh, trapping her LBW. With the Indians at 93/4 in the 15th over, the middle order collapsed. Sciver-Brunt returned a simple catch to Jonassen, who soon removed Kamalini. Minnu Mani then struck twice, dismissing Sajana and Amelia Kerr, ensuring MI couldn’t recover. Late boundaries from Amanjot Kaur (12 off 9) saw Mumbai finish at a modest 123/9 in 20 overs.

Chasing a modest target, Delhi Capitals got off to a flying start as Lanning and Shafali Verma tore into Mumbai’s bowlers. Shabnim Ismail started aggressively, almost trapping Lanning LBW, but a review showed impact outside off. Lanning responded by driving Ismail for consecutive boundaries through point and gully, while Shafali quickly found her rhythm, dispatching Nat Sciver-Brunt for a six over square leg and adding two more boundaries.

By the end of the PowerPlay, Delhi had reached 57/0, well ahead of the required rate. Mumbai’s breakthrough came in the 10th over when Amanjot Kaur dismissed Shafali Verma for 43 runs, caught by Kerr at deep midwicket. However, Jemimah Rodrigues quickly made her mark, slamming a four off her second ball.

Lanning, unfazed by the wicket, reached her fifty off 40 balls, marking her second of the season and a record-breaking eighth in WPL history, surpassing Ellyse Perry’s seven. She continued to punish Jinti Moni Kalita with consecutive boundaries as the crowd, including Sourav Ganguly, applauded her brilliance. With only a few runs needed, Lanning guided the ball through midwicket for two runs, sealing the win and leading DC to the top of the WPL table with an unbeaten 60 off 43.

Brief scores: Mumbai Indians 123/9 in 20 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 22, Hayley Matthews 22; Minnu Mani 3/17, Jess Jonassen 3/25) lost to Delhi Capitals 124/1 in 14.3 overs (Meg Lanning 60 not out, Shafali Verma 43; Amanjot Kaur 1/12) by nine wickets
(With IANS inputs)