"Never Shown...": India Legend Mithali Raj Heaps Praise On Ignored Star Who Slammed 18-Ball 43 In WPL 2025

Delhi Capitals (DC) pulled off a nail-biting two-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians (MI) in the ongoing Women's Premier League (WPL) on Saturday. The match witnessed some electrifying moments, with Shafali Verma's aggressive innings at the top. Former India captain Mithali Raj, speaking on JioHotstar, lauded Shafali's fearless approach. "I think anyone stepping into Shafali Verma's shoes would acknowledge how she has never shown a defensive approach. Right from the second ball, she started scoring runs, playing her shots with her usual flair. That's just her style," she said, as quoted from a release by JioHotstar.

Shafali's knock kept DC in the hunt, but her dismissal turned out to be a turning point in the contest.

Analyzing her wicket, Mithali added, "The only way to dismiss her today was to outthink her, and I understand that feeling because I've been in that situation myself. At one point, she had too much time and wasn't sure where to place the ball. Just before her dismissal, the fielding side adjusted their setup, bringing mid-on up and pushing deep square leg back because she had found boundaries there. She instinctively aimed to clear mid-on but ended up playing into the fielder's hands, resulting in a crucial wicket."

Coming to the match, chasing 165, DC was left 109/5 in 14.5 overs despite a fine 60-run opening stand. However, Niki Prasad and Sarah took down the equation to 10 runs off the last over despite wickets falling at other end. With two runs needed on final ball, the pair of Arundhati Reddy and Radha Yadav completed a risky double and it was worth all the toil.

After Delhi Capitals won the toss and elected to bowl first, they were off to a fine start as a low grab by skipper Meg Lanning on a Shikha