Two-time finalists Delhi Capitals ended the Varodara leg of the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2025 with two wins in three matches as they held their nerve to register a seven-wicket win over UP Warriorz. Skipper Meg Lanning said this was undoubtedly their best performance in the ongoing competition so far.
Lanning had the reason to be elated with their performance as the captain herself set the foundation for the chase after keeping Warriorz to 166/7. But after she fell, DC needed 32 runs off the last three overs. The experienced Marizanne Kapp (29 not out) and Annabel Sutherland (41 not out) stepped up to complete the chase in the last over to ensure DC signed off from the Vadodara leg of WPL 2025 on a high.
Happy to be on the right side. Much better out there tonight. I felt I was positive from the first ball. Got my footwork going. We had some world-class players out there (in the closing stages of the chase). I thought we were on for 200 after the first six overs! We pulled it back really nicely. Taking wickets is really important. There are always areas to improve, but I feel this was our best performance of the tournament so far.
Lanning said it was good to bounce back after losing their previous match to defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
It was nice to bounce back as a team. We probably didn't put our best effort out the other night (against RCB) but we had the opportunity to put our best foot forward in this match and we did that. We still feel like there are areas where we can get better. It's been nice to win two close ones because it shows we're able to hold our composure to an extent and get over the line.
Lanning also heaped praise on Annabel Sutherland for her match-winning contribution. The Australian impressed with both bat and ball, registering figures of 2-26 in four overs before playing a crucial unbeaten knock of 41 off 35 balls to guide Delhi Capitals to the victory.
Annabel (Sutherland) was outstanding with the ball initially as she got early breakthroughs when we were really under pressure. Later, she held her nerves while batting as well. She probably felt that she wasn't hitting them as well as she would have liked but to have that sort of stability at one end allowed Marizanne Kapp to come in and play with freedom. It was a crucial role and it was nice to see her do well.
Meanwhile, former India captain Mithali Raj blamed poor fielding by UP Warriorz for the position they find themselves in -- winless in two matches and plumbing the bottom of the standings.
The Warriorz dropped the catch of Marizanne, substitute Alana King, and also committed misfields resulting in back-to-back boundaries in the final over. Their sloppy fielding efforts were summed up by Tahlia McGrath failing to collect the ball from mid-on at the non-striker's end which could have led to a run-out of Marizanne, but it turned out to be the winning run for DC.
That was a crucial over. Although Delhi Capitals needed more runs than the number of balls remaining, we saw a few lapses in UP Warriorz’s fielding, which ultimately helped Delhi Capitals chase down the target," said Mithali..
The action now shifts to Bengaluru, where Delhi Capitals will again take on the UP Warriorz on Saturday.
