DC's Batty backs his team, insists there's 'no mental block' despite another finals loss

It's rare to see Jemimah Rodrigues without her characteristic cheerful demeanor. Similarly, Alice Capsey and Shafali Verma are usually quick to share a laugh. Yet, as the Delhi Capitals trudged towards the presentation area after their latest defeat, the sense of disappointment was palpable. A few hundred loyal fans cheering for Rodrigues, Shafali, Shikha Pandey, and their teammates received only quiet acknowledgments, heads bowed in sadness. The players were visibly yearning for comfort, wishing someone could assure them it was all just a bad dream.

DC had now faced their third consecutive defeat in a WPL final. Each season, they'd topped the league stage, directly entering the title match. While they lost the finals of WPL 2023 and 2024 by margins of seven and eight wickets respectively, their defeat this time was much narrower, falling short by only eight runs.

Despite the narrow loss, head coach Jonathan Batty managed to bring his characteristic humor into the press conference. Asked about a common factor in their three final defeats, he joked, "The opposition got more runs than we did!"

In previous seasons, despite talents like Jasia Akhter and Laura Harris, DC struggled to effectively finish their innings, lacking impactful batting in the lower order. Wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia, batting at number 11 in the 2024 final, had batted only five times in 18 matches across two seasons. However, this season saw an improvement with Scotland wicketkeeper Sarah Bryce joining the squad, allowing DC to field five overseas players. Bryce, typically a top-order batter, managed an impressive strike rate of 150 batting at number seven, indicating a successful attempt to address previous weaknesses.

This made the loss particularly bitter for DC, having identified their previous shortcomings, rectified them, yet still ending in the same place. Their squad depth was such that Indian internationals Arundhati Reddy and Radha Yadav played just four and two games respectively this season. However, Batty refrained from overanalyzing, acknowledging that Mumbai Indians simply performed better on the crucial day.

"The players were up for it, mentally fine, and I believe there was no mental block at all. Full credit to Mumbai Indians; they outplayed us and deserved the victory," Batty emphasized.

"We need time to fully understand what went wrong," Batty said. "Two top-quality teams were in a tight battle. Losing by just eight runs—essentially two boundaries—means the game could have swung either way. There's no common pattern; unfortunately, we've just ended up on the losing side three times in a row."

"Finishing top of the table three consecutive years shows we've played fantastic cricket, but ultimately you have to win the final to cross the finish line. Everyone's deeply hurt right now. You'd usually back yourself to chase 150 on this pitch nine times out of ten. Maybe the occasion slightly overwhelmed the players," he added.

Previously, DC had opted to set targets in finals but failed to post competitive totals. Hence, Meg Lanning chose to chase this year. In WPL 2025, teams batting first had won all matches at the Brabourne Stadium before the final, but that didn't influence Lanning’s decision.

Yet again, DC's batting struggled in the title clash. Their top order succumbed under Mumbai's early pressure, slipping to scores of 17 for 2, 44 for 4, 66 for 5, and eventually 83 for 6. Marizanne Kapp's spirited 40 off 26 balls revived their hopes temporarily, but Mumbai's disciplined bowling restricted DC to only 14 runs in the final two overs, securing their second WPL trophy.

"There's definitely no mental block," Batty reiterated. "We bowled and fielded exceptionally to restrict them to 149. Considering recent matches, 180 was likely par, so we were happy with that effort. But full credit to Mumbai Indians, who kept us below the run rate consistently."

Batty praised his team's bowling, especially Kapp’s opening spell. Mumbai's Harmanpreet Kaur delivered a crucial partnership with Nat Sciver-Brunt, turning the game decisively in Mumbai's favor. Despite a strong bowling display, DC’s inability to hold firm under pressure cost them again.

Ultimately, DC found themselves agonizingly close yet again. Batty’s humor provided only temporary solace in a moment marked by another heartbreaking defeat.