Jess Jonassen spanked a brilliant half-century to steer the Delhi Capitals to a six-wicket win over the Gujarat Giants in their Tata Women's Premier League (WPL) encounter at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Tuesday night.
This victory lifts the Capitals to the top of the table.
It also extends the Giants' winless run at the Chinnaswamy. Last season they lost all their encounters at the venue.
The toss went the Capitals' way and Meg Lanning opted to bowl first.
The Capitals' bowling attack struck early to put the Giants on the back foot and restricted them to 127-9.
Lanning and company made short work of the total, scoring 131-4 in 15.1 overs.
The Capitals promoted Jess Jonassen up the order to cause disruption after Kashvee Gautam and Deandra Dottin had done well with the ball for the Giants in the powerplay.
The new-ball bowlers bowled tight lines and mounted enough pressure to keep the Capitals beneath the required run rate for the first four overs.
"It's nice when something comes off like that. JJ has always shown that she can bat," Lanning shared at the post-match presentations.
Jonassen arrived at the crease after 3.3 overs, faced five deliveries, and decided she had seen enough.
The Australian star faced 26 deliveries to reach her maiden WPL half-century.
The left-hander finished the match unbeaten on 61 off 32 deliveries. Her innings featured nine fours and two sixes.
"I was a bit surprised by the opportunity [to bat at No 3], but always happy to take it. Had a bit of luck early, but that's part of the T20 game," Jonassen said as she accepted her Player of the Match award.
Jonassen shared a fruitful 74-run second-wicket partnership with Shafali Verma.
The duo fed off each other as they powered the Capitals to victory.
Verma took her time to settle in, but once she got her eye in, she was destructive.
The 21-year-old smashed three sixes and five fours for her 27-ball 44.
The Capitals were 40 runs away from victory when Ashleigh Gardner trapped her lbw.
“It was difficult in the first three overs of the second innings. The ball was holding and shaping. So the idea was to stay there till the end. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the fifty,” Verma said after the match.
The Capitals wobbled after Verma's dismissal, however, it was not enough to derail their chase.
Jonassen continued on her merry way, making the Giants chase leather.
She was in the company of Marizanne Kapp when the Capitals clinched victory.
KAPP AND PANDEY FELL GIANTS
Earlier in the evening, Kapp and Shikha Pandey gave the Capitals the best start they could.
The pitch had a tinge of green and the Capitals captain was hopeful that her bowlers would make early inroads into the Giants' batting order.
Statistics also supported her decision.
Kapp and Pandey didn't just make early inroads, they ripped into the Giants top order.
They reduced their opposition to 31-4 at the close of the powerplay.
“If you look at DC's bowling line-up, they've got four international quicks. So it was always going to be challenging in the powerplay. They bowled exceptionally well, and put us under pressure,” Ashleigh Gardner, the Giants’ captain, shared after the match.
The Giants' top order crumbled at the sight of the Capitals' new-ball bowlers.
Kapp gave nothing away in her opening spell. She hit the right areas in the powerplay and snared two wickets for eight runs in three overs.
She conceded a single run in her first over, dismissed Harleen Deol and Phoebe Litchfield in a double-wicket maiden, and then bowled a tidy sixth over that cost the Capitals seven runs.
Shika Pandey went for a few runs more than Kapp but still got the job done.
The medium-pacer conceded a handful of boundaries but made amends with a brace of wickets of her own to close her spell with two wickets for 18 runs in three overs.
Like Kapp, the wickets came in the same over.
Deandra Dottin came to the crease with no intention of soaking up the pressure.
She was determined to fight fire with fire. She clubbed five fours on her way to 26 off 24 deliveries.
Bharti Fulmali picked up from where Dottin left. She took a few deliveries to get her eye into the contest before she engaged fifth gear.
She lived up to her reputation as someone who hits a long ball. She scored an unbeaten belligerent 29-ball 40 to lift the Giants to a total over 120.
“We know the potential Fulmali and Kanwar have. To see them take the opportunity and put on a 50-run partnership was fantastic to see,” Gardner said.
Kapp was the pick of the Capitals' bowlers.
The South African star took two wickets for 17 runs in four overs.
Pandey and Annabel Sutherland also bagged a brace each, however, they went at higher economy rates.
DELHI CAPITALS: Shafali Verma, Meg Lanning (capt), Jemimah Rodrigues, Annabel Sutherland, Marizanne Kapp, Jess Jonassen, Sarah Bryce (wk), Niki Prasad, Minnu Mani, Titas Sadhu, Shikha Pandey.
GUJARAT GIANTS: Beth Mooney (wk), Phoebe Litchfield, Harleen Deol, Ashleigh Gardner (capt), Deandra Dottin, Bharti Fulmali, Simran Shaikh, Tanuja Kanwar, Kashvee Gautam, Priya Mishra, Meghna Singh.
