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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BJP claims Kejriwal spent Rs 31 lakh monthly on maintenance of CM's bungalow from 2015 to 2022
New Delhi, Apr 5 (PTI): The BJP lashed out at AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday citing an RTI reply that revealed Rs 3.69 crore was spent annually between 2015 and 2022 for the regular maintenance of the former chief minister's bungalow at 6, Flagstaff Road.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, quoting the RTI reply, said a total of Rs 29.56 crore was spent between March 31, 2015, and December 27, 2022, on general repairs, sewage, electricity and structural works of the bungalow that was occupied by Kejriwal when he was the chief minister.
While the BJP leader asked Kejriwal to "come forward and explain what exactly was lacking in his bungalow that required Rs 31 lakh to be spent every month on its maintenance", the AAP sought to know what the ruling party would achieve by abusing Kejriwal.
The opposition party pointed out that the bungalow was a government accommodation, not Kejriwal's private property.
Sachdeva said details obtained through a Right To Information (RTI) query have shown that Rs 3,69,54,384 was spent annually on regular maintenance of the bungalow.
Kejriwal, who came to power with promises of leading a government for the common man, was exposed by his "luxurious lifestyle" at the "Sheesh Mahal" constructed "secretively at a cost of Rs 52 crore", Sachdeva claimed.
The BJP has been targeting the AAP and Kejriwal over the reconstruction works at the bungalow, describing it as a "Sheesh Mahal" for its "expensive" interiors and household goods.
"We are presenting more evidence of Kejriwal's five-star lifestyle and corruption, and we demand an immediate response from him," Sachdeva said at a press conference here.
The Delhi BJP chief said a person from Maharashtra had filed the RTI query, seeking details of the maintenance expenses on the bungalow and added that the figures revealed Kejriwal's "extravagant lifestyle" and "corruption" in government works.
"In Delhi, where one can build a decent 250-300 square yard house spending Rs 3 to 4 crore, the cost of maintenance of Kejriwal's bungalow at Rs 3.69 crore annually is astonishing," he said.
The BJP leader said that Kejriwal has been avoiding answering the questions for a long time. The people of Delhi expect him to come forward and clarify what exactly was so deficient in his bungalow that Rs 31 lakh per month was needed for its maintenance, he added.
AAP hit back, saying the BJP "betrayed" Delhi and did not provide Rs 2,500 for women and free cylinders on Holi which proved that their poll promises were just gimmick.
While Delhi is suffering due to power cuts and arbitrary fee hikes by private schools, the BJP president is busy hurling abuses at Kejriwal, the opposition party alleged.
