NEW DELHI: Delhi Capitals registered a convincing seven-wicket win over table-toppers Royal Challengers Bengaluru to keep their Women’s Premier League playoff hopes alive on Saturday.

After choosing to bowl first, Delhi delivered a near-perfect bowling effort to restrict RCB to just 109 in 20 overs. They then chased down the target comfortably with 26 balls to spare, handing RCB their first loss of the season.

Laura Wolvaardt led the chase with an unbeaten 42 off 38 balls, while skipper Jemimah Rodrigues supported well with a handy 24. Delhi Capitals finished on 111 for 3 in 15.4 overs.

Wolvaardt, Rodrigues steady the chase

Delhi did stumble early in the run chase, slipping to 24 for 2 in the fourth over after losing openers Shafali Verma (16) and Lizelle Lee (6) cheaply.

However, a calm 52-run stand for the third wicket between Rodrigues and Wolvaardt steadied the innings and took Delhi close to the finish line. Rodrigues scored her 24 from 26 balls with four boundaries, while Wolvaardt struck four fours and a six in her composed knock.

Marizanne Kapp then sealed the win in style, remaining unbeaten on 19 off 15 balls and hitting Shreyanka Patil for a boundary to complete the chase.

Sayali Satghare was the pick of the RCB bowlers with figures of 2 for 18, while Radha Yadav chipped in with one wicket.

Following the win, Delhi Capitals moved up to second place with six points, while RCB stayed at the top with 10 points.

RCB collapse after Mandhana’s start

Earlier, Delhi Capitals produced a disciplined bowling performance to bowl RCB out for 109.

Asked to bat, captain Smriti Mandhana top-scored for RCB with a fluent 38 off 34 balls, including six fours and a six. However, she received little support from the rest of the batting lineup.

Radha Yadav was the next best contributor with 18 off 17 balls, as eight RCB batters were dismissed for single-digit scores under sustained pressure from the DC bowlers.

The opening partnership between Mandhana and Grace Harris (9) added 36 runs, which turned out to be RCB’s highest stand of the innings. A sharp collapse followed, with RCB slipping to 78 for 5 in the 14th over before being bowled out inside the full quota.

For Delhi Capitals, Nandani Sharma starred with three wickets for 26 runs, while Marizanne Kapp, Minnu Mani and Chinelle Henry picked up two wickets each. Shree Charani claimed the remaining wicket.

(With PTI Inputs)