The inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League has done a remarkable job in popularizing women’s cricket in India. The five-team tournament entertained the fans with breathtaking action through 22 matches spanned across 23 days, and worked as a stepping stone for the bright future of women’s cricket in the country.
The action-packed event featured several international stars and some budding Indian talent as well who rose to the limelight with their marvellous performances. While there were many batters who lit up the competition with their scintillating strokeplay, some bowlers also rose to the occasion and turned matches in their team’s favour with their incredible spells.
As the tournament came to a close with Mumbai winning the historic inaugural edition, let’s take a look at the top five bowling performances in WPL.
Here are the top-five bowling spells of WPL 2023:
5 Sophie Ecclestone 4/13 (3.3 overs) vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
In Match 8 of the tournament between UP Warriorz and Royal Challengers Bangalore, RCB elected to bat first and were cruising at 72/1 after 8 overs when Sophie Ecclestone came in to bowl the ninth over. The left-arm spinner got the prized scalp of Sophie Devine as he cleaned her up.
After Devine’s wicket, RCB lost two quick wickets and were reduced to 98/4 after 12.2 overs. Ecclestone returned to pick up the wickets of Shreyanka Patil, Renuka Singh and Sahana Pawar to dismiss the Smriti Mandhana-led side for 138 as she finished her spell on 4/13 in 3.3 overs.
In reply, UP chased down the target in 13 overs as Alyssa Healy scored an unbeaten 96 off 47 balls.
4 Saika Ishaque 4/11 (3.1 overs) vs Gujarat Giants
Saika Ishaque has been one of the finds of the WPL as she played a pivotal role in Mumbai’s successful campaign and finished as the joint second-highest wicket-taker of the tournament. She scalped 15 wickets in ten matches at an average of 16.26 and an economy of 7.
Her best performance came against Gujarat Giants in the curtain raiser of the tournament. Defending 207 runs, Mumbai had Gujarat reeling at 11/3 after four overs when Ishaque came in to bowl. She dismissed Annabel Sutherland in her first over and further dismissed Georgia Wareham in her second.
The 27-year-old further picked up two more wickets and cleaned up the tail as Gujarat were bundled out for 64 runs. As a result, Mumbai got their WPL campaign off to a rollicking start by registering a 143-run victory.
3 Kim Garth 5/36 (4 overs) vs UP Warriorz
Defending 169 in Match 3, Gujarat Giants got off to a terrific start with the ball as Kim Garth got the prized scalps of Alyssa Healy, Shweta Sehrawat and Tahlia McGrath in her second over to reduce UP to 20/3 after three overs.
The right-arm seamer returned to bowl the 13th over of the innings and picked up two more wickets to complete her five-wicket haul in just three overs. Garth had figures of 5/16 in three overs but was taken to the cleaners in her last over by Grace Harris and finished her spell with figures of 5/36 in four overs.
However, her fifer went in vain as Gujarat eventually lost the game courtesy of Grace Harris’ sensational knock. Garth finished the tournament as the highest wicket-taker for her side picking 11 wickets in seven matches at an average of 17.54.
2 Tara Norris 5/29 (4 overs) vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
The second match of the WPL saw Delhi Capitals put on a batting masterclass as they posted 223/2 after being put in to bat first by RCB. In reply, RCB’s highly experienced batting was expected to chase down the total; however, they succumbed to some top-notch bowling by Tara Norris who broke the back of their batting line-up.
She picked up the crucial wickets of Ellyse Perry, Richa Ghosh and Heather Knight to derail RCB’s chase. The American seamer finished her spell on 5/29 in four overs and etched her name in the history books as she became the first bowler to pick up a five-wicket haul in WPL.
Norris was deservedly awarded Player of the Match for guiding her side to a 60-run win in their opening encounter.
1 Marizanne Kapp 5/15 (4 overs) vs Gujarat Giants
In Match 9 of the competition, Gujarat Giants elected to bat first against Delhi Capitals. The decision, however, immediately backfired as Marizanne Kapp destroyed the stumps of Sabbhineni Meghana on just the second ball of the match to give an early blow to Gujarat.
She further dismissed her compatriot Laura Wolvaaardt and Ashleigh Gardner off consecutive deliveries in her second over to send shockwaves through the Gujarat camp. Harleen Deol and Sushma Verma also fell prey to Kapp in her third and fourth over respectively, as she completed her five-wicket haul. The South African all-rounder finished her spell on 5/15 in four overs and registered the best bowling figures of WPL 2023.
The 33-year-old finished as the second-highest wicket-taker for Delhi picking nine wickets at an average of 22.88 and an economy of 5.72 which is also the best in the tournament among bowlers with a minimum of two overs bowled.
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