WPL 2025: Lanning, Sutherland, & Kapp Star As DC Beats UPW By Seven Wickets (ld)

WPL 2025: Lanning, Sutherland, & Kapp star as DC beats UPW by seven wickets (ld) (Image Source: IANS)

Captain Meg Lanning: Captain Meg Lanning was at her majestic best through a fine 69, while Annabel Sutherland and Marizanne Kapp held their nerve to be unbeaten on 41 and 29 respectively as Delhi Capitals edged UP Warriorz by seven wickets in match six of WPL 2025 at the Kotambi Stadium on Wednesday.

After Kiran Navgire’s whirlwind fifty off 24 balls, Shweta Sehrawat’s 33-ball 37 and Chinelle Henry’s unbeaten 15-ball 33 powered UP Warriorz to 166/7, Meg set the foundation for DC’s chase by hitting a 49-ball 69, laced with 12 fours.

Later, Annabel and Marizanne played critical unbeaten knocks to ensure that DC completed the chase with a ball to spare and end the WPL 2025 Vadodara leg on a high. The duo and DC were also helped by a shoddy fielding performance from UPW helping them climb to second place in the points table.

Shafali Verma began DC’s chase of 167 by hitting Kranti Goud for four and six in the opening over. From the other end, Meg cut and steered Sophie Ecclestone for a brace of fours, before she and Shafali took a four each off Rajeshwari Gayakwad.

Meg upped the ante by flicking Chinelle Henry for two easy fours, before creating room to cut her through backward point again and getting a similar result against Kranti as DC ended power-play at 59/0.

But shortly after that, Shafali miscued a slog off the toe-end against Deepti to deep mid-wicket and fall for a 16-ball 26. One brought two for UPW as Jemimah Rodrigues top-edged a sweep to short fine leg off Sophie and fall for a duck.

Meg, though, continued to dazzle in piercing the off-side by slapping Rajeshwari through point for raising her fifty. But in a bid to flick off Grace Harris, Meg shuffled far too across and was castled. Though Annabel and Marizanne held fort in the chase, DC still needed 32 runs off last 18 balls, and all options open in terms of which way the result would go.

But the experienced Marizanne maintained her composure to hit back-to-back boundaries off Sophie in the 18th over. On the last ball of the 19th over, Marizanne’s catch was dropped by substitute Alana King, as the equation came down to 11 runs in the final over. Annabel hit Tahlia McGrath for back-to-back fours, before the all-rounder made a mess of a run-out chase as DC got over the line, with UPW paying the price for poor fielding.

Previously, Kiran unleashed unbelievable carnage by hitting six fours and three sixes to smash the fastest half-century by a UP Warriorz batter in the WPL. But after she fell for 51 off 27 balls, DC came back to pick four wickets in 16 runs.

It took solid knocks in the back end from Shweta and Chinelle, playing her first WPL game, to ensure UPW crossed the 160-mark. Kiran provided a rollicking start to UPW’s innings by swivelling and lofting Marizanne for a brace of fours. Kiran then hit Shikha Pandey for back-to-back boundaries coming off sublime drives. After Vrinda Dinesh lofted Marizanne for a boundary, Kiran pulled her for six, before dancing down the pitch to take a four and six off Jess Jonassen.

Boundaries continued to flow for Kiran as she swatted a juicy full toss from Shikha over mid-off for six, before Vrinda lofted Annabel for a boundary. But after that, DC bounced back as Vrinda pulled a cross-seam delivery from Annabel straight to deep mid-wicket.

Though Kiran got her fifty in 24 balls by driving Arundhati Reddy through the gap at extra cover for four, she fell for 51 off 27 deliveries while trying to pull a short ball from Annabel, with the leading edge caught by long leg.

Tahlia stepped out of her crease to drive Jess on the off-side, but misses the delivery and was stumped swiftly by Sarah Bryce. In the next over, Sarah exhibited another swift work with the gloves to have Deepti stumped, and leave UPW in tatters at 83/4. Grace and Shweta tried resurrecting the innings with their 36-run stand off 32 balls, before the former spooned straight to mid-off against Arundhati.

Chinelle injected much-needed momentum into the innings by thumping Minnu Mani for four, before smacking an off-colour Shikha for two sixes and as many fours to take 23 runs off the 17th over. The duo took a four each off Arundhati, before being dismissed in the final over by Marizanne as UPW could get only 16 runs off the last three overs.

Tahlia stepped out of her crease to drive Jess on the off-side, but misses the delivery and was stumped swiftly by Sarah Bryce. In the next over, Sarah exhibited another swift work with the gloves to have Deepti stumped, and leave UPW in tatters at 83/4. Grace and Shweta tried resurrecting the innings with their 36-run stand off 32 balls, before the former spooned straight to mid-off against Arundhati.

Article Source: IANS