Women's Premier League 2024

'That's how a captain should be' - Fans laud Meg Lanning as she blames herself for Delhi's first loss in WTL

Skipper Meg Lanning blamed herself for Delhi's first defeat in the Women's T20 League against Mumbai on Thursday.

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Meg Lanning

Meg Lanning (Image credit: Twitter)

Meg Lanning Meg Lanning (Image credit: Twitter)

Delhi tasted defeat for the first time in the ongoing Women's T20 League after losing to Mumbai at the DY Patil Stadium on Thursday, March 9. The encounter was between two unbeaten teams in the tournament and now Mumbai remain at the top of the table with a hat-trick of wins. Batting first, Delhi have scored over 200 runs in the tournament so far and we all expect a similar performance from them. But Mumbai bowlers came with some other plans and bowled out their opponents for just 105. However, despite top-scoring for her side in their first defeat, captain Meg Lanning took the blame herself.

Lanning has been one of the best performers so far in the inaugural edition of the WTL and was awarded the Orange Cap when she scored 43 runs against Harmanpreet Kaur's side. However, the Delhi opener was not happy about being the highest run-scorer in the competition as she believed her sloppiness with the bat set the tone for their miserable day.

In the post-match presentation, the 2023 Women's T20 World Cup-winning captain said: "I take a lot of blame for our batting in the second half of our innings. I got out at a crucial time and took up too many balls early on. I feel a bit silly wearing the orange cap".

Lanning also highlighted that her team was unable to form partnerships at the back end of the innings. "We needed a set batter to see us through to the back end and that was the difference really. There's lots of things to work on ... sometimes, it doesn't go your way," she added.

Mumbai breeze past Delhi after bundling them out for 105

Talking about the match, Delhi won the toss and elected to bat first but nothing went right for them as wickets fell at regular intervals. The Mumbai bowlers ensured that their batters had little work to do as they restricted Lanning and Co for a mere score. Issy Wong, Hayley Matthews and Saika Ishaque picked up three wickets to tear apart the Delhi batting line-up. Lanning and Jemimah Rodrigues tried to build a partnership but Ishaque struck twice in the same over to dismiss both of them and bring Mumbai back into the game.

Chasing 106 runs, it was a cakewalk for Mumbai batters. Yastika Bhatia and Matthews gave the chase a flying start as they scored 47 runs in the powerplay. Alice Capsey and Tara Norris sent the openers back to the pavilion, but by then victory was out of Delhi's reach.

Here's how Twitter responded to Meg Lanning's statement:

Women's T20 League 2023