WPL 2025: Spinners Minnu, Jonassen prove slow and steady wins the race in DC’s demolition of MI

A pace-heavy Delhi Capitals showed how experience and an imperious performance on the field can help the team tune itself to any conditions in their nine-wicket demolition of Mumbai Indians at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday.

Jess Jonassen and Minnu Mani made the most of the slow strip at the venue and turned on the squeeze in the middle and the death to frustrate MI, eventually allowing their rivals to only make 123. Skipper Meg Lanning put on a batting clinic for the packed crowd in the Garden CIty as she helped DC hack the total down within 15 overs.

It was a canter possible due to the hard work of her bowlers on a slow Chinnaswamy strip. The six overs of spin between the 11th and 19th over yielded 31 of the 42 runs MI scored in this phase. Jonassen, with over 100 T20I matches under her belt, began the carnage with Minnu — barely 10 T20Is old for India — finishing the job and registering her best figures in the WPL along the way.

Jonassen was given a go in the PowerPlay after MI got off to a fluent start. It didn’t work with the offie conceding 11 runs in the fourth over. She returned for a fresh spell in the 11th over with Lanning looking to her old soldier to break a settling partnership between Harmanpreet Kaur and Nat Sciver-Brunt. The pair had added 38 runs in a little over four overs and were accessing boundaries with ease.

Match Report | Highlights, as it happened

An 80.2kmph arm ball to Harmanpreet did the trick as it caught the MI skipper plumb in front. Sciver-Brunt, who has been enjoying a dream run with the bat, saw the law of averages catch up with her. Jonassen deceived her in the air with a slower delivery – a 73..7kmph ball which dropped pace suddenly on the English allrounder in the 14th over. Sciver-Brunt attempted to drive it on the front foot but ended up sending it back to Jonassen instead who held on.

Minnu’s first over was neat but still gave away six runs to Mumbai Indians.

“In my first over, I was bowling quicker which made the ball skid and easier for the batters to hit. Then, I thought of changing the length and the pace,” she reflected after the game.

Before she returned for her second over in the 17th, Jonassen was seen having a chat with the youngster from Wayanad.

“My length was shorter [in first over]. She [Jonassen] told me that I could pitch the ball a bit more front and also asked me to vary the pace. This helped me in my second spell.”

The ploy worked and the first victim was Minnu’s statemate Sajeevan Sajana. She dropped the pace to 71.5kmph and flighted the ball to Sajana, drawing her out to try and hit the ball. Sajana bit the bait and miscued the ball to Lanning waiting at extra over.

Two deliveries later, Minnu pitched the ball wide turning it into Amelia Kerr. But the lack of pace meant the Kiwi was forced on the backfoot to try and manufacture and a shot. She smacked it to midwicket where a sprinting Annabel Sutherland dove to complete the catch.

“I thought if I bowled normal deliveries then it wouldn’t be helpful. I tried to give the ball enough flight and revolutions, which worked out,” Minnu added.

From there, Mumbai lost its next four wickets for 22 runs, with Jonassen and Minnu claiming one each (G. Kamalini and Sanskriti Gupta respectively).

For Minnu, who doesn’t get to bowl full tilt often, the outing against MI is surely a big shot in the arm.

“Everyone has been very helpful. Compared to the first two seasons, my bowling has improved a lot. I have learnt how to bowl according to the situation and the batters,” she told reporters.

The 25-year-old has already bowled twice as much as she did last season and has surpassed her haul of three wickets from last year with five scalps to her name so far in this edition. Her economy rate has also improved from 7.87 in 2024 to 6.21 this year.

The conditions have also been helpful.

“In these kinds of wickets, I’m getting more bounce when I turn the ball a lot,” she pointed out, with the Kerr dimissal being a good case in point.

Her hard work earned Minnu praise from her skipper Lanning.

“Shoutout to Minnu Mani – she has been brilliant all tournament. She has incredible skills, some good variations and real improvement from our whole team and from our Indian domestic players,” she told broadcasters during the post-match presentation.

Minnu, Jonassen, and the Capitals will not get time to rest as they face home favourites Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Saturday. With RCB coming in after three straight home losses, DC’s tweakers will hope to run riot once more to cement their spot on top of the standings.