WPL 2023: 3 reasons why Delhi Capitals can win inaugural edition

Delhi Capitals put up a stellar show to kickstart their WPL campaign on March 5, Sunday. The Meg Lanning-led side crushed Smriti Mandhana's Royal Challengers Bangalore to open their account in the tournament. A grand opening partnership of 162 between skipper Lanning and Shafali Verma gave a perfect start to the Capitals which was then carried forward by Marizanne Kapp and Jemimah Rodrigues.

Although RCB initially looked good with a zippy transaction of runs executed by the openers Smriti Mandhana and Sophie Devine, it was initially Alice Capsey who gave Delhi the first couple of breakthroughs by dismissing both the openers to reduce RCB to 56/2. Veteran Australian cricketer Ellyse Perry then briefly went all guns blazing to catch up to the required run-rate when Lanning introduced Delhi's fifth overseas option, Tara Norris in the middle. From there, Norris stole the show with her breathtaking bowling performance and accelerated Delhi's victory. The USA-born cricketer claimed WPL's first fifer to be under the spotlight.

With Delhi's performance in the very first game of the tournament, the franchise has undoubtedly elicited hope among its fans of bringing the trophy home. With the type of team that Delhi is, it definitely looks within their reach to etch their name on the trophy as the first ever WPL winner. While the men's team hasn't been able to pull it off in 15 years, we look at three reasons why the women's team could end that prolonged drought in the first season itself. 

Here are 3 reasons why Delhi Capitals can win the first season of the WPL:

1. World's most successful captain at the helm

Delhi Capitals are led by Meg Lanning who has captained the Australian women's team in 5 T20 World Cups, winning 4 of them. Lanning first assumed captaincy of the Australian team in 2014 and within months, led Australia to their 2nd T20 World Cup title. In just 9 years of her captaincy, Lanning has amassed 1 ODI World Cup trophy, 4 T20 World Cup trophies and 1 Commonwealth Games gold medal. 

Putting her captaincy exploits aside, even with the bat Lanning has won matches for Australia. In 2011, she became the youngest player, men and women combined, to score a century for Australia when she played an unbeaten 103-run knock against England to ensure a 9-wicket victory for Australia. Records speak volumes in favour of her batting prowess. She holds the record of scoring the most ODI centuries in women's cricket. Over 12 years of her playing career, Lanning has hit 15 ODI centuries, apart from scoring tons in two T20 matches. 

At the WPL auction, Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals indulged in an intense bidding war to acquire her services. Eventually, Delhi signed her for 1.1 crores and unsurprisingly, named her captain for the first season. She thoroughly lived up to the expectations in the first match not just with her captaincy, but even with the bat. She scored 72 runs off 44 balls to script a 162-run partnership with Shafali Verma for the first wicket. Thus, with her firebrand batting and impeccable leadership, Delhi could take huge strides to lift the trophy.