Royal Challengers Bangalore won the 2024 Women’s Premier League and here’s the team of the tournament.
Beth Mooney (Gujarat Giants)
285 runs @ 47.50, SR: 141.08
Gujarat finished last in the season with only two wins from eight games. The only positive from the batting unit was their Beth Mooney’s form. The only Gujarat batter to make more than 200 runs in the edition, she was the only one in the competition to finish with an average of over 40 and a strike rate above 140. Mooney scored three successive fifties but bowed out with a duck.
Shafali Verma (Delhi Capitals)
309 runs @ 38.62, SR: 156.85
Verma hit 20 sixes in the season, 10 more than the next player on the list. She had a strike rate of 156 in the powerplay, the highest among all players. All three fifties she made were stroke-filled, the highlight being a 37-ball 71 against Gujarat that helped Delhi chase down 127 in 13.1 overs.
Jemimah Rodrigues (Delhi Capitals)
235 runs @ 39.16, SR: 153.59
Rodrigues made two fifties in the edition, but her power-hitting stood out. Only Verma made more runs at a better strike rate than her, who scored both her fifties under pressure. Her 33-ball 69* against Mumbai needs special mention. She was 13 in 14 at one point before smashing 56 in her last 19 deliveries to help Delhi to a formidable score. Though she was out for a duck in the final, she played her part earlier. She was also electric on the field.
Harmanpreet Kaur (Mumbai Indians) – captain
268 runs @ 53.60, SR: 141.05
Kaur helped Mumbai to a miracle win against Gujarat Giants. Needing 191 for a win, Mumbai were struggling at 98-3 in 13.3 overs, needing 93 in 27 balls. On 20 from 21 balls at one stage, she finished on 95 from 48. Her dismissal was also the turning point in the Eliminator: it led to Mumbai’s loss. She will lead the team as well, edging ahead of Mooney, whose team finished last.
Ellyse Perry (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
347 runs @ 69.40, SR: 125.72
7 wickets @ 15.57, ER: 6.81
Perry was the Wonder Woman for RCB, starring in two different departments in two crucial games. In the last league game, she picked up a record 6-15 – the best ever WPL figures – to dismiss Mumbai for 113. She also contributed with an unbeaten 40 in the game as Bangalore sealed a playoff spot. In the Eliminator, RCB were struggling at 49-4 in 9.1 overs. On a slow wicket, Perry hung around for a 50-ball 66 and saw her team to a competitive 135-6, which proved to be enough in the end. No other player made more than 18 for RCB in the game. She was also unbeaten in the final and won the Orange Cap.
Richa Ghosh (Royal Challengers Bangalore) – wk
257 runs @ 42.83, SR: 141.98
Ghosh was another Indian youngster who stood out in the league. She had a strike rate of 196 in the death overs, after only Rodrigues and Kaur. She started with a 37-ball 62 in the WPL and played several handy cameos thereafter. Against Delhi, Ghosh scored 51 runs at a strike rate of 176 and almost took her team over the line in the run chase of 182 before a last-ball run out saw RCB lose by one run.
Deepti Sharma (UP Warriorz)
295 runs @ 98.33, SR: 136.57
10 wickets @ 21.70, ER: 7.23
Sharma created history in the game against Delhi, becoming the first woman with a fifty and a hat-trick in the same T20 game. She started the tournament at No.8 and was promoted to No.3 against Delhi, making a fighting 59 on a tricky surface. With the ball, she picked up 4-19 to allow Warriorz to defend 138 against Delhi. She starred in almost every game this season, with either bat or ball. Across her last three games, she scored 200 runs and got seven scalps.
Shikha Pandey (Delhi Capitals)
9 wickets @ 27.11, ER: 7.17
Pandey was exceptional in the final, conceding 11 runs in her four overs with one wicket. She was the most economical pace bowler at the death in the season, giving away 7.53 an over. She was also the most successful bowler in the phase, getting six scalps. No other seamer got more than two.
Sophie Molineux (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
12 wickets @ 23.16, ER: 7.31
Molineux was not in the race to make the XI – Jess Jonassen was the first choice – but her spell in the final saw her make the cut. Her triple-wicket over rocked Delhi, reducing them from 64-0 to 64-3 in the space of four balls. Delhi could never recover and were all out for 113.
Shreyanka Patil (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
13 wickets @ 12.07, ER: 7.30
Patil ended with the Purple Cap, gaining form as the tournament progressed. She was off-colour in the first three games but bounced back spectacularly thereafter, getting 12 wickets in five games. She picked up two four-fors, including one in the final. She also had figures of 2-16 in the Eliminator and held her nerves in the tough overs.
Marizanne Kapp – Delhi Capitals
11 wickets @ 16, ER: 6.28
The only game Kapp was wicketless in this year’s WPL was in the final. Prior to that, she picked up at least two wickets four times in six games and ended as the second-most economical bowler in the competition.
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