DC deserve the top spot after playing such good cricket: Punam Raut

Mumbai, March 21 (IANS) Mumbai Indians, who were initially the dominant side in the inaugural edition of the WPL, winning their first five matches, suddenly find themselves in a slightly challenging position after back-to-back defeats as the competition enters its business end.

MI, who were beaten by UP Warriorz on Saturday, lost to Delhi Capitals by nine wickets on Monday night at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, and surrendered their position at the top of the table to DC.

Both teams have ten points each, but the latter have a better net run rate with one more round of games remaining. DC's bowling attack fired collectively and stifled MI to restrict them to only 109/8. They chased down this target in only nine overs with nine wickets intact. Meg Lanning 32 not out (22b, 4x4, 1x6), Shafali Varma 33 (15b, 6x4, 1x6) and Alice Capsey 38 not out (17b, 1x4, 5x6) ensured a smooth chase for DC.

Punam Raut, a WPL expert for Sports18 and JioCinema, was impressed with the way Delhi played.

"I wanted to watch good cricket today and that's exactly what Delhi gave us. They took the responsibility to bowl first by winning the toss and it was the perfect call. Their bowlers were great and the team played sensational cricket in every department. When it was time to bat, the three top-order batsmen easily dealt with it. When your team performs as a unit, why shouldn't they be at the top of the table? They deserve the top spot after playing such good cricket," she said.

Parthiv Patel, another WPL expert, praised the explosive performance from the 18-year-old DC batter Alice Capsey, saying, "She's just 18 years old. When she's put in the position to hit big shots for the net run rate, not just in the qualifying battles, but to take the top spot on the table, she's done that. They couldn't have lost the match from the position they were in and it gave her a license to bat hard. Delhi outplayed Mumbai in every facet and MI will feel like today's match didn't even happen. There's a big match tomorrow and they'll focus on preparing for that."

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