Shafali Verma’s blitz powers nine-wicket win over RCB as Delhi Capitals qualify for WPL knockouts
Bengaluru, Mar 1 (PTI): Shafali Verma smacked 80 not out as Delhi Capitals registered a commanding nine-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru to qualify for the Women’s Premier League knockouts here on Saturday.
For defending champions RCB, this was their fourth consecutive defeat at their home venue of M Chinnaswamy Stadium here.
After Ellyse Perry’s fourth fifty (60 not out) of the season took RCB to a competitive 147/5, DC batters Shafali (80 not out) and Jess Jonassen (61 not out) brushed aside the challenge without much ado.
Chasing 148 to win, DC prevailed with nine wickets in hand and 4.5 overs to spare, consolidating their position at the top of the WPL table with 10 points from seven matches, thanks to five wins and two losses.
They became the first team to reach the playoffs.
Delhi Capitals had, in fact, handed a similar thrashing to Mumbai Indians here on Friday.
RCB, on the other hand, slipped to fourth position with only two wins so far in six matches.
Shafali continued to dazzle with her stroke play to make 80 not out off only 43 balls with four sixes and eight fours for her first half-century of the season after falling in 40s thrice in the tournament.
She produced a cracking hit for a six over cover off Georgia Wareham in the 13th over to complete her fifty off 30 balls.
On the other hand, Australia veteran Jonassen produced her second fifty of the season, smacking nine fours and one six to make 61 off only 38 balls to pile up further pressure on RCB.
Earlier, Perry’s 47-ball 60 not out was crucial for RCB as it guided them to 147 for five.
Perry became the competition’s all-time highest run-getter with 895 runs in 23 matches at 63.92, going past Meg Lanning (847 runs in 25 matches).
With this knock, the Australian stalwart also became the leading run-scorer in this year’s WPL with 295 runs in six matches at 98.33.
Perry dropped anchor to help RCB recover from an early blow in the form of skipper Smriti Mandhana (8) and hit her fourth fifty of the season, scoring 60 from 47 balls with three sixes and as many fours.
Perry also forged strong partnerships along the way, adding 44 runs with England’s Danni Wyatt-Hodge (21) for the second wicket and another 68 runs with India’s Raghvi Bisht (33) to consolidate the RCB innings.
While Wyatt-Hodge struck one six and two fours to make 21 off 18 balls, Bisht had a successful outing as she made 33 from 32 balls with two sixes.
For Delhi Capitals, India's Shikha Pandey returned 4-0-28-2, while the uncapped Nallapureddy Charani claimed 4-0-28-2. Marizanne Kapp was once again impressive with the new ball, returning 4-0-18-1 for another measly spell.
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Ikkis box office Day 1: Agastya Nanda’s war drama earns ₹7 crore, beats trade projections
Mumbai: Ikkis, the latest war drama directed by Sriram Raghavan, has delivered a stronger-than-expected opening at the box office, earning an estimated ₹7 crore net in India on its first day, Hindustan Times reported on Friday.
The film, starring Agastya Nanda, opened in theatres on January 1 across nearly 4,000 screens nationwide. Trade analysts had earlier projected a modest opening of ₹2–2.5 crore, especially given stiff competition from Dhurandhar, which continues to perform strongly at the box office.
Despite these expectations, Ikkis exceeded projections by nearly three times, helped largely by positive word of mouth. As per the report, the film had around 12% occupancy in the morning shows across the country, which jumped to 35% by afternoon, and 47% in the evening, indicating growing audience interest as the day progressed.
While Dhurandhar dominated the day with a reported ₹15 crore collection, trade observers note that Ikkis holding its ground amid such competition is a promising sign, particularly for its performance over the extended opening weekend.
Ikkis is based on the life of Arun Khetarpal, the youngest recipient of India’s highest gallantry award, the Param Vir Chakra. The film chronicles Khetarpal’s exploits and bravery during the 1971 India-Pakistan War. Agastya plays Khetarpal in the film.
While screen legend Dharmendra appears as his father in his final performance, Dharmendra died a little over a month before the film’s release. Ikkis is also among the final films of the late Asrani, who also died late last year. The film also stars Jaideep Ahlawat and Deepak Dobriyal.
