Shikha delighted to have contributed to Capital’s thrilling win

Shikha Pandey's impactful new ball swing helps Delhi Capitals secure a last-ball win against Mumbai Indians in WPL.

Shikha Pandey swung the new ball tellingly on Saturday night.

On the flat track at the BCA Stadium, against a formidable Mumbai Indians batting line-up, she knew she had to get the maximum out of the fresh ball. She is glad she could do that, and that her spell played a significant part in Delhi Capitals’ last-ball win.

Her swing undid both the openers, Hayley Matthews and Yastika Bhatia. “Oh, I had fun,” Shikha admitted. “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 was going to be a flat wicket. So I was just trying to take wickets first up. I am happy to have contributed.”

She was all praise for the match-winning knock from the young Niki Prasad, making her WPL debut after leading India to victory in the recent Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup. “This is really nice for Niki, playing her first high-intensity game and taking us closer (home),”

She added it was a great team effort from the Capitals. “It was really nice,” she said. “We are still not at full-strength and have some superstars who couldn’t play today. And to get a team like MI, which was paying at full-strength, all out was amazing. Last time the tournament opener was pretty much a similar game. We ended up on the wrong side of the result, but this time we were on the right side.”