Meg Lanning strengthened her position as the Women's Premier League's all-time top scorer after her first half-century of the season helped Delhi Capitals beat Beth Mooney's winless Gujarat Giants to move to the top of the table. .
The former Australia captain also helped the Capitals to a 25-point victory over Bangalore on Sunday (Monday AEDT), giving credit to his former national teammate Jess Jonassen, who was instrumental in the 3-22 win. I was also grateful.
It was another miserable afternoon for Mooney. The bat's good form continued into the 12th inning, when Jonassen trapped her LBW, and the Giants lost their fourth straight game.
Lanning, who relinquished the Australian captaincy after losing in last year's final but remains ambitious to win women's cricket's biggest league, won the Orange Cap as the WPL's top scorer in its inaugural year.
And the 31-year-old opener is just five points behind fellow Australian Grace Harris' highest run total of 153 this year, as she scored 55 runs off 41 balls, including six fours and a six. Recorded and fined. After Mooney elected to play, he became the launching pad for the Capitals' 8-163 record.
After taking a loose shot and covering it, Lanning was furious at not scoring further.
“I wanted it to last longer,” she said.
Jonassen was not selected for the first game of the season, but was an integral part of the team's all-round performance in the team's win over Royal Challengers Bangalore that week.
With the Giants slumping to 8 wins and 138 losses, she won the Player of the Match award for taking three wickets in two consecutive games.
The only thing that worried Lanning was Australia's Ash Gardner's horribly late batting, hitting 40 off 31 balls.
But Jonassen lured Gardner into swinging too wild and tripped her at a crucial moment in the match.
“I'm surprised I got this far (by winning the Most Valuable Player Award), but I'm happy with the win,” Jonassen said.
“Meg knows me well and knows that I always love the ball in my hands. I take pride in my ability to do that.”
Lanning, who narrowly edged out champions Mumbai at the top of the table, is happy to return to Delhi, where he will be based for the next tournament, after the initial stages in Bangalore.
“I'm looking forward to playing in front of the fans. It's a good challenge for us and I'm really looking forward to it,” she said.
Capitals will next face Royal Challengers Bangalore on Tuesday.
