Tara Norris, a 24-year-old hailing from Philadelphia sealed the fate of the match in just two overs. In her WPL debut, she took wickets of some renowned batters in the world and became the first player to take a fifer in WPL, to guide Delhi Capitals to a 60-run victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore in their campaign opener in Mumbai on Sunday.
Royal Challengers Bangalore opening pair of Smriti Mandhana and Sophie Devine started the enormous chase of 224 with a bang. The RCB skipper unsettled Delhi Capitals bowlers with her ability to score boundaries on a consistent basis. After having a nightmare with the ball, Sophie Devine started her innings with confidence. She was able to support her captain by keeping the scoreboard ticking. But it all started to go downhill for the RCB team as Alice Capsey took the ball in her hand.
In a span of two overs, Capsey got the wickets of both the openers. Devine departed before the powerplay with a score of 14(11). Shafali Verma caught everyone by surprise as she took a stunning catch. Even Devine couldn’t believe her eyes. Mandhana managed to survive the powerplay with Ellyse Perry operating as her backup. At the end of the powerplay, RCB was at 54/1, with Mandhana (34*) joined by Ellyse Perry (6*).
Moments after the powerplay ended Mandhana became the second victim of Capsey. RCB skipper went back to the pavilion with a score of 35(23). The rest of the RCB team lost their wickets on a consistent basis. Tara Norris took a
five-wicket haul.