Mumbai: After becoming runners-up in the inaugural Womens Premier League (WPL) through a seven-wicket loss to Mumbai Indians in the final, Delhi Capitals’ fast-bowling all-rounder Shikha Pandey believes the side has it in them to bag many more titles in the future editions of the tournament.
“All the conversations in the DC camp have been around being the best team players. The team that has the most team players usually wins. It didn’t work out for us this time, but I’m sure we will have many more titles in the longer run. We’ll try harder next season,” Shikha was quoted as saying in a release by the franchise on Monday.
In the final played at the Brabourne Stadium, Delhi were in deep trouble at 79/9, but then Shikha and Radha Yadav were unbeaten on 27 not out each as the duo shared a phenomenal 52-run partnership for the last wicket and take the side to 131/9 in 20 overs.
It would’ve been really nice to win the inaugural edition of the WPL. I can assure everyone that we tried our best. I was batting conservatively until Radha came in and played a big shot. And then she encouraged me to play my shots as well,” she added.
Shikha also spoke about what Captain Meg Lanning told the team before defending 132, which Mumbai chased down with three balls to spare. “She just asked us to enjoy the game and bowl at our best. She also said that we play cricket for these challenging moments.”
“I thought we could pull it off when we needed to defend 21 in the last two overs. But Amelia Kerr played some really good shots and Nat Sciver-Brunt also played a very good innings.”
She signed off by summing up her experience of being part of the first-ever WPL. “It was a really good tournament for me. The last one and a half years have been challenging for me. It was wonderful working with a great support staff and playing alongside legends. This tournament and DC will always have a special place in my heart.”
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