It felt almost inevitable at DY Patil – with the evening dew never far away – that whichever skipper called correctly would send the opposition in. Jemimah Rodrigues did just that, choosing to bowl first against Mumbai Indians in her first outing as Delhi Capitals captain.
The 23-year-old was back at the ground where she earned her Test cap two winters ago and where India lifted the ODI World Cup a mere 70 days earlier. At the toss she smiled, saying, “Captaincy is something I really enjoy, I have been leading my state side since I was 16,” before jogging off to set her field.
Delhi’s overseas quartet leans heavily on South Africa: Laura Wolvaardt, Marizanne Kapp and Lizelle Lee line up alongside West Indian all-rounder Chinelle Henry. Whether Shafali Verma pairs with Wolvaardt or Lee at the top remains a question for the chase. The Capitals also unveiled 24-year-old Chandigarh quick Nandani Sharma, her first appearance in the competition.
Across in the Mumbai huddle, Harmanpreet Kaur admitted she would have made the same call. The India captain said they were “definitely chasing” if the coin had landed her way. Illness continues to sideline Hayley Matthews, so the hosts shuffled again, granting an 18-year-old left-arm spinner from Haryana, Triveni Vasistha, her debut. She replaces Saika Ishaque, who endured a tough single over two nights ago.
That previous match – a last-ball defeat to RCB highlighted by Nadine de Klerk’s late sixes – featured prominently in Mumbai’s pre-game chat. Harmanpreet conceded they had “discussed the mistakes we made in the last game” and, despite “very less time to recover,” believed her side were ready to reset. Casting an eye towards an even strip, she added: “This pitch looks quite different and good to bat,” hinting that a 160-plus score might be required.
Playing XIs
Delhi Capitals: Shafali Verma, Lizelle Lee (wk), Laura Wolvaardt, Jemimah Rodrigues (c), Marizanne Kapp, Niki Prasad, Chinelle Henry, Sneh Rana, Minnu Mani, N Shree Charani, Nandani Sharma.
Mumbai Indians: Amelia Kerr, G Kamalini (wk), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Nicola Carey, S Sajana, Amanjot Kaur, Poonam Khemnar, Sanskruti Gupta, Shabnim Ismail, Triveni Vasistha.
What to watch for
• Dew factor: chasing sides have won both previous fixtures this week.
• New-ball tussle: Ismail v Verma could decide the mood early.
• Debut nerves: Sharma’s pace against Kerr’s guile, and Vasistha trying to out-fox Wolvaardt in the powerplay.
The storylines are tidy enough, but a Women’s Premier League match rarely stays on script. Rodrigues has her wish – a target to hunt – and now must show she can marshal bat and brain under lights in Navi Mumbai.
