“It Was Team Effort..”, Says Shikha Pandey Post DC’s Thrilling Win

February 16, 2025: Delhi Capitals (DC) kicked off their Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025 campaign in dramatic fashion with a nail-biting two-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians at Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara. Chasing a target of 165, DC needed two runs off the final ball, and Arundhati Reddy, who had just come in to bat, held her composure to guide her team to victory.

After the match, DC’s Shikha Pandey expressed her joy at the thrilling win, reflecting on the similar intensity of the season opener compared to last year’s narrow loss. “Last time the tournament opener was pretty much a similar game, it’s just that we ended up on the wrong side of the result. This time we are on the right side and it has been a team effort,” Pandey said.

Pandey also played a key role with the ball, claiming impressive figures of 2/14 as DC bowled out Mumbai Indians for 164. Reflecting on her performance, she mentioned, “I had a lot of fun bowling with the new ball. I knew that whatever magic I had to do with the new ball had to be done in the first few overs because we followed the game last night and it’s going to be a flat wicket. I was just trying to take wickets first up with the new ball.”

The veteran cricketer highlighted DC’s meticulous planning, saying, “Meg (Lanning) goes by her gut feeling a lot, that’s what she keeps telling. The management, coaches, and the captain spend a lot of time in matchups. It’s not just Mumbai that we plan against but we actually plan against all other teams as well.”

Pandey also praised debutant Niki Prasad, who played a vital role in the chase, contributing a valuable 35 off 33 balls. “I’m really happy for Niki (Prasad) as well. This was her first game and she showed a lot of character in this kind of a high-intensity game and took us really close,” she added.

With this thrilling win, DC will now look ahead to their next match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on February 17, aiming to build on their early success.