Got much closer than we would have liked: Jonassen

At one point in the fixture, it felt like Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) were finally going to break their drought in the ongoing Women’s Premier League (WPL) season. But that’s where the duo of Marizanne Kapp and Jess Jonassen came out of the syllabus for the Bangalore franchise. 

The two took calculated risks before Jonassen launched an assault against the out-of-form bowler Renuka Thakur to give Delhi two more points. In the post-match presentation, Australian all-rounder, and one of the architects of Delhi’s win, Jonassen said that they took the game much closer than they would have liked. 

“Well that's nice [on Lanning saying if Jonassen is there, nothing to worry]. It got much closer than we would have liked. I was happy to be there till the end and get over the line. A super-human dive from Kappy allowed her to get back in and Capsey's innings at the top helped as well,” Jonassen had to say in the post-match presentation. 

While some maybe shocked by Jonassen’s batting efforts in the WPL, the all-rounder has a batting average of 22.08, with 814 runs coming at No.3, in the Women’s Big Bash League. She has been a proven hitter in the Australian cricketing circuit, and this was just an extension of her batting abilities. 

“It's pretty odd when I bat higher in the Australian team. Starved of opportunity in that Australia team. Back home in the domestic team I bat in the lower middle-order and that has kept me in good stead. More innings like this hopefully are coming. I back my strengths, going straight and hit well,” she adds. 

But having said that, Jonassen expressed that she was shocked by the Player of the Match award, and insisted that there were certain plans against the off-spinner, Shreyanka Patil, which ultimately helped them cross the line. 

“A bit of a surprise for me to be standing here. There's a lot of other players who were more deserving, but we will take the 2 points. Just a few balls in the third or fourth-last over but I told Kappy to back her swing and she nailed one short and wide. To use the feet against the off-spinner was risky but I had clear plans on how I wanted to play the off-spinner, and got a sweep shot away.”

Meg Lanning insists tough finish will do wonders for DC

Delhi’s skipper, Meg Lanning was happy with the result, and insisted that the wicket became slower making it tough for them to chase it down much earlier. 

“It was close in the end there, JJ and Kappy did an excellent job to keep their composure. We got ahead and RCB bowled well to come back, nice to get over the line. It would have been nice to finish it earlier but the wicket got slower,” Lanning said. 

All of Delhi’s win thus far in the campaign have been relatively easy, and some have been crushing wins for them. But a win as close as this, according to Lanning, will do ‘wonders’ for the team. 

“Having two experienced batters at the end helped. We just executed really well, if you hit a good length, that's the most effective way to bowl. A lot to learn from this game. To get a win under pressure will do wonders for our team. I am trying to stay calm - that's T20 cricket for you, you are under the pump all the time,” she added.

Lanning also reserved a special praise for veteran Shikha Pandey, who picked up three wickets conceding just 23 runs. First, she dismissed Smriti Mandhana before removing Sophie Devine, and later returned to remove dangerous Richa Ghosh. 

“Shikha Pandey has been under the radar, she is bowling really well and having Kapp and Jess Jonassen on the field helps as well.”