Vadodara (Gujarat) [India], January 20 : After losing their third consecutive matches in the ongoing Women's Premier League (WPL) 2026, Mumbai Indians captain Harmanpreet Kaur spoke about her side's under-par batting.
Delhi Capitals defeated two-time champion Mumbai Indians by seven wickets in the 13th match of the ongoing tournament on Tuesday. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led Mumbai Indians suffered their third consecutive defeat. Before losing two to the Delhi-based franchise, the two-time champions had lost twice to UP Warriorz.
With this victory, the Jemimah Rodrigues-led Delhi are placed at fourth position after their five matches. The Capitals have won two games and lost three so far. They are having four points at a negative Net Run Rate (NRR) of -0.586. Mumbai Indians remained in second place after suffering a seven-wicket loss. The two-time champions have won two and lost four in their six matches so far. They have 4 points with a positive NRR of 0.046.
Speaking during the post-match presentation, Harmanpreet Kaur felt her side was 20-30 runs short. Kaur added that before the WPL 2026, the team were struggling with injuries, but stressed the need to take responsibility at the opening slot.
"We were 20-30 runs short. We couldn't execute with the bat, and it has been bothering us throughout the tournament. We need to push more in the powerplay. Before the tournament, we were struggling with injuries [in the squad]. It's not an excuse, but whoever is batting in the opening spot has to take responsibility. [On Vaishnavi] She is the one who kept us in the game. We bowled badly in the powerplay, but her wicket of Shafali was the turning point. She was great with Amanjot... The next two games are important, and we'll go in with a positive mindset," Harmanpreet said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
After winning the Player of the Match award for her match-winning, unbeaten half-century, Delhi Capitals captain Jemimah Rodrigues revealed about sharing her award with veteran Marizanne Kapp.
"I would like to share this award with Marizanne Kapp. I asked, but they said no. Proud of the way the team bowled. What was up was Marizanne Kapp's running between the wickets with me. It really set the tone. [On her winning knock] I've had conversations with a few people I trust, and they told me to give myself time initially. I knew that if I got past those 10 balls and had clarity, it was easier to score here. I knew anything under 160 was a fighting score, but we still needed to bat well. I learnt a little from Nat and Harman too, about how to bat on this pitch," Jemimah said.
After being asked to bat first, the Mumbai Indians posted 154/5 in 20 overs. Nat Sciver-Brunt played a fantastic unbeaten knock of 65 off 45 balls, including six fours and two sixes. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur scored 41 off 31 deliveries along with seven fours. For Delhi, Shree Charani (3/33) scalped a three-wicket haul.
In response, Shafali Verma scored 29 off 24 balls, including six fours. Verma also crossed the 1000-run landmark in WPL history. She became the fourth batter after Nat Sciver-Brunt, Meg Lanning and Harmanpreet Kaur to reach the coveted milestone.
Wicketkeeper-batter Lizelle Lee notched up 46 off 28 balls, along with seven fours and one six. However, captain Jemimah stayed till the end, scoring unbeaten at 51 off 37 deliveries, including five fours and one six that helped her side to chase down the target in 19 overs.