‌WPL 2024 | Twitter reacts to Shafali dwarfing Giants as Capitals clinch final’s berth

Winning the toss and choosing to bat first on her fourth successful attempt, Beth Mooney failed to replicate the past heroics after getting cleaned up by Marizanne Kapp in the first over itself. Jess Jonassen assisted her in reducing the Giants to 23/3 at the end of the powerplay before Ashleigh Gardner and Phoebe Litchfield followed suit in the ninth and eleventh over respectively. With the score thus reading 50/5, Bharathi Fulmali and Kathryn Bryce ticked the scorecard along with a 68-run sixth-wicket partnership, the former playing aggressor. The local star threaded boundaries regularly to rack up 42 runs before Shikha Pandey induced back-to-back wickets, followed by a couple of run-outs in the last over to curb the Giants to 126/9. 

In reply, the Capitals got off to a brisk start with Meg Lanning smashing four fours in the second over, followed by Shafali Verma joining the party before the former was runout in the fourth over. In a space of three balls, Alice Capsey fell prey to Tanuja Kanwar but Jemimah Rodrigues entered the fray and ensured a 45-run powerplay. Initially, the former played second fiddle to Verma’s natural game as the Haryana-bred clubbed the opposition’s best bowler, Ashleigh Gardner, for three sixes. They went on to tailor a match-defining 94-run stand before Verma holed out to mid-off with just three runs to win. Eventually, Jemimah hit the winning boundary to seal the deal and finish at the top of the table, heading straight to the finals.

What a player she is!

Big hitter!

Big match player!

True!

She is so good at it!

Yes!!

We gonna have a good game!

That was hard luck!

Hahaha!

Lucky charm!