What did DC’s Jess Jonassen and GG bowling coach Pravin Tambe say in the post-match presser?

Two-time runners up Delhi Capitals climbed to the summit of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025 standings after securing a dominant six-wicket win against Gujarat Giants in the tournament’s 10th match at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Their all-round performance ensured a comfortable chase, strengthening their position in the competition. With this victory, Delhi continues to showcase its title-contending credentials.

Jess Jonassen was the star performer of the match, smashing 61 runs from 32 balls with a strike rate of 190.62. The Australian also contributed with the ball, picking up 1 wicket in a 3-over spell. The player of the match answered the questions of the media.

Reflecting on the win, Jonassen shared, “I think when we set out at the start of the game, we ended up finishing it and playing the way that we did, we would have been very happy. Taking pretty much all of our opportunities in the field, a few amazing catches from Niki Prasad really sort of set the tone for us, I think Kapp and Shikha Pandey were up front with the ball.

“I think maybe four wickets in that power play set the game up for us, which was really pleasing, considering we hadn’t played as consistently for a whole game as we would have liked so far in the tournament. So, hopefully this is the start of what is going to be coming from now on.”

On getting promoted up the order ahead of Jemimah Rodrigues at no. 3, Jonassen said that she had the conversation with coach Jonathan Batty earlier in the day, where he mentioned their plan to send her up the order to inject some firepower and intent during the power play if an early wicket fell within the first three to four overs.

She acknowledged that this was always the plan in such a scenario and expressed her happiness at being able to deliver on the opportunity. She also appreciated the faith shown in her and was pleased to repay it with a strong performance.

On assessing the pitch in Bengaluru, the all-rounder said, “I wasn’t too bothered to be fair. A little bit streaky at times, obviously an outside edge to get me off and running, but I think that’s the T20 game, and I think if you look to be nice and positive, then sometimes that luck is going to go your way.

“I knew that if I went into my shell and didn’t try and play my shots, then that’s when I probably would have gone into a bit more trouble and to be fair, a pitch with a bit more grass and a bit more bounce makes me feel like I’m at home. So, to play on a pitch like that, and to get through right to the end was really pleasing.”

Acknowledging the reasons behind her promotion up the batting order, she added, “I think it was probably likely to happen anyway, sort of just a matter of the style of play, but I think, obviously with a shorter boundary, the dial turned into your favour a little bit more to have a left and right hand combination out there, but in all honesty, Shefali hits six’s over covers anyway. So, it doesn’t really matter if there’s a short boundary. So, I think it’s nice to know that our team is quite versatile and dynamic.”

On getting back to winning ways and making a recovery from the loss against the UP Warriorz, Jonassen said that the good thing for their team is the abundance of experience in the dressing room. She highlighted that one bad night, a few slightly mis-executed overs, or losing a match is not enough to derail them, as they can keep things in perspective.

With a quick turnaround, there isn’t enough time to sit and dwell on mistakes or things that didn’t go to plan, so the focus remains on looking ahead to the next opponent. She expressed satisfaction with how various players have bounced back at different times with both bat and ball, as well as in the field. Reflecting on the match against UP, she admitted that their fielding was below their own standards, which likely cost them the game. However, she was pleased that in this match, they managed to hold on to the majority of their chances, including some tricky ones.

Backing her captain Meg Lanning who has been slightly out of touch in recent outings, she said “I mean, she’s a world-class player- the best players in the world sometimes miss out a few times and equally it’s only a couple of innings ago she scored a pretty quick fire 60. So, she’s one of the hardest working members in our team. So, there’s no concern from our point of view. She’s the ultimate competitor and world-class, so we have all the faith in her that she’s got more runs left in that bat for this season for us.”

Bowling coach of Gujarat Giants, Pravin Tambe was at the helm answering the questions of the press.

After a week-long break from WPL action, the Giants resumed their campaign in Bengaluru but began their leg with a loss, falling by six wickets to the two-time runners-up.

“I don’t think so (whether the gap did more harm than good). We played three matches on the trot in Vadodara, and we got enough time to assess things. Obviously, the wickets were different, coming to red soil from black soil. But I don’t think that affected us that much,” said the former spinner.

“On this type of wicket, 150-160 total will be handy. We fell 30 to 40 run short because the ball was seaming on this track and their ballers bowled really well on this track and they utilized the wicket very well. I think one game actually should not take us away from the fact that we got a very good side if we see that we have scored 200 plus runs and we defended also.”

“Our squad has the potential. If we scored 200 today, then this question wouldn’t be asked. We did make changes, but those were based on the conditions we were going to play. I think we were about 30-40 runs short. The ball was seaming a lot on this pitch, and the Capitals bowlers bowled really well,” he added.

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