WPL Final: DC stumble against RCB spinners, all out for 113
New Delhi, Mar 17: Delhi Capitals lost the plot against Royal Challengers Bangalore spinners after a flying start, crumbling like a pack of cards to be bowled out for 113 in the Women's Premier League final here on Sunday.
DC were cruising at 64 for no loss in 43 balls before they committed harakiri, losing 10 wickets for just 49 runs in front of a 28,781 capacity crowd, who looked divided in their loyalties.
Australia's left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux (3/20) started DC's downfall, picking up three wickets in the eighth over.
Thereafter, the hosts never really recovered, losing wickets at regular intervals, courtesy some loose shots and off-spinner Shreyanka Patil's (4/12) exploits in the middle and late overs hastened their end.
Opting to bat, DC skipper Meg Lanning (23 off 23) and Shafali Verma (44 off 27) looked in a different world as they upped the tempo in a linear fashion.
Lanning, the second highest run-getter in the tournament, played the second fiddle as Shafali went hammer and tongs after a slow start in the first 11 balls.
Shafali was particularly destructive straight down the ground as she slammed her first three sixes in that region. She opened up her arms in the final delivery of the second over when she went down on her knee to dispatch Molineux over long on for the first six of the innings.
The right-arm fast bowler Renuka Singh was taken to task in the fourth over, which yielded 19 runs.
Shafali started the onslaught clobbering the bowler over her head for a six, which eventually inspired Lanning.
Lanning then struck two boundaries off the last two deliveries of the same over to match her partner.
Ellyse Perry also bore the brunt of Shafali's wrath as the Australian all-rounder was hit over for a maximum and then a boundary as DC reached 52 in five overs.
The DC openers continued their attacking game and hit Sophie Devine for a boundary each in the next over to take the home team forward.
But RCB managed to put brakes on DC when Molineux scalped three wickets in the eighth over, dismissing Shafali, Jemmimah Rodrigues and Alice Capsey, the last two wickets even put her in the line for a hat-trick which eventually didn't happen.
After reaching 72 for 3 at the halfway mark, DC's mainstay Lanning, who was trying to resurrect the innings, departed, trapped leg before Shreyanka but not after she wasted a review.
Thereafter, the home team kept losing wickets in search of unnecessary big shots to stumble to 81 for six.
It was mayhem for DC as they lost seven wickets for mere 23 runs in that period.
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Veteran journalist, filmmaker Pritish Nandy passes away at 73
Mumbai, Jan 8: Veteran journalist, poet and filmmaker Pritish Nandy passed away in Mumbai on Wednesday, sources close to him said.
Nandy (73) died after a cardiac arrest at his home in south Mumbai and his last rites were performed in the evening, they said.
In a social media post, veteran actor and Nandy's friend Anupam Kher paid glowing tributes to him.
"Deeply deeply saddened and shocked to know about the demise of one of my dearest and closest friends #PritishNandy! Amazing poet, writer, filmmaker and a brave and unique editor/journalist!" Kher wrote.
"He was my support system and a great source of strength in my initial days in Mumbai. We shared lots of things in common. He was also one of the most fearless people I had come across. Always Larger than life. I learnt so many things from him. Off-late we didn’t meet much. But there was a time when we were inseparable! I will never forget when he surprised me by putting me on the cover of Filmfare and more importantly The Illustrated Weekly," Kher added.
Nandy was a former Rajya Sabha member of the Shiv Sena and also an animal rights advocate.
His company, Pritish Nandy Communications, made films like 'Sur', 'Kaante', 'Jhankaar Beats', 'Chameli', 'Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi', and 'Pyaar Ke Side Effects' and also produced the web series 'Four More Shots Please!'
Nandy wrote around 40 books of poetry in English and translated poems from Bengali, Urdu, and Punjabi into English.
Deeply deeply saddened and shocked to know about the demise of one of my dearest and closest friends #PritishNandy! Amazing poet, writer, filmmaker and a brave and unique editor/journalist! He was my support system and a great source of strength in my initial days in Mumbai. We… pic.twitter.com/QYshTlFNd2
— Anupam Kher (@AnupamPKher) January 8, 2025
