Delhi Capitals Seal Playoffs Berth with Dominant Win

Delhi Capitals became the first team to qualify for the WPL 2025 playoffs after a convincing 9-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Shafali Verma and Jess Jonassen shared a crucial 146-run partnership to set the tone for the Capitals' victory.

RCB's Ellyse Perry scored 60* with the only other notable contribution coming from Raghvi Bist (33). However, the team's over-reliance on Perry was exposed, and they struggled to build momentum in the death overs, scoring only 41 runs in the last 5 overs.

In response, the Capitals' openers were kept at bay by Renuka Singh Thakur's inswingers. However, Jonassen and Verma took the attack to Kim Garth, scoring three boundaries each off the back-foot. Verma's aggressive batting forced RCB to turn to Perry with the ball, but even she struggled to contain the Capitals' momentum.

Jonassen punished Sneh Rana for her half-trackers and then took the attack to Perry, scoring 15 runs. Georgia Wareham's spinning partner Ekta Bist was dispatched with disdain by both batters, and the Capitals put the game out of reach with 4.3 overs to spare.

Brief Scores:

• Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 147/5 in 20 overs (Ellyse Perry 60*, Raghvi Bist 33; Shikha Pandey 2-24, Nallapureddy Charani 2-28)
• Delhi Capitals: 151/1 in 15.3 overs (Shafali Verma 80*, Jess Jonassen 61*; Renuka Singh Thakur 1-28)