WPL 2025 final: Mumbai Indians claim second title as Delhi Capitals despair

Mumbai Indians defeated the Delhi Capitals, who had lost to them for the third time in a row, to win their second Women’s Premier League (WPL) title with an eight-run win.

Delhi, who has played in the three finals of the young competition, would have had a big impact on the outcome had Mumbai lost 149-7 in the first innings of Saturday’s match at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.

Mumbai’s hopes of surviving the defeat they won in their first final in 2023 were resurrected by captain and Indian international Harmanpreet Kaur’s 66.

Delhi’s 2-11 bowling performance was a subpar one, led by South African Marizanne Kapp.

Mumbai’s dominance, led by England’s Nat Sciver-Brunt (3-29), was what smothered Delhi’s hopes despite a number of cameos in the chase, including a powerful late-innings blast from Kapp.

When West Indies opener Hayley Matthews was bowled for three by Kapp after winning the toss, Delhi were immediately vindicated in making the decision to field first.

In her third over, the right-armed seamer removed Yastika Bhatia, Mumbai’s other opener, and opened and bowled straight through her four overs.

Sciver-Brunt and Kaur put together a partnership of 89 for the third wicket to claim the title of 2023 champions.

When Shree Charani was sweeping Shree Charani with force at the age of 30, the former would have assumed she was on for more runs. Minnu Mani was perfectly positioned in the sweetly timed stroke, though.

After the final, Kaur’s 66, the highest score in the final, kept the innings together, but she was desperate for a companion. The unbeaten eighth-wicket stand of 17 was the innings’s next biggest partnership.

With captain Meg Lanning and opening batsman Shafali Verma both missing within the first three overs, Delhi’s response couldn’t possibly have started badly.

Annabel Sutherland followed in the eighth over after the powerplay, Jess Jonassen followed in the first over.

Another WPL final and defeat loomed.

Although the captain may have left, Jemimah Rodrigues, her deputy, was able to make sense of it.

The Delhi vice captain praised her captain’s leadership during the lead-up to the final, but it was her team’s dynamic innings, which had the highest strike rate in a match against anyone with more than seven deliveries, that gave them a chance.

The right-hander was 30 when the 11th came back with a caught-and-bowled strike before the over was over, which was premature as the Delhi number four closed her bat face in search of a single.

As she and Sarah Bryce began a new partnership, Kapp, a star player with the ball, appeared to be giving Delhi one last hope before a misunderstanding and a momentary hesitation by the latter caused her to comfortably leave.

With the innings’ third-highest partnership at 18, the best partnership being 22 years old, it was a shallow return looking for a foundation to build a chase on.

When Kerr carried a catch over the boundary in the 16th, it appeared the tide may be turning, and Kapp continued her nearly one-woman pursuit to end Delhi’s losing streak in finals.

The game and the final were well and truly up when the potent all-rounder slammed into Matthews and Long-on for 40 as the match’s first wicket.

The chase quickly came to an end when Sciver-Brunt, who claimed Kapp’s wicket, bowled Shikha Pandey with the following ball.