In the Women’s Premier League (WPL) match on Sunday, Delhi Capitals defeated Gujarat Giants by 25 runs, despite a slight wobble with the bat. This demonstrated the difference between a top-tier team at the top of the league table and a poorly assembled, inexperienced squad.
Giants had done well to take wickets in the middle overs of the first innings, but even with their bowling being excellent, Meg Lanning’s side was able to reach 163 thanks to careless fielding and careless batting, which included dropping a few sitters. Additionally, by playing disciplined defence and refusing to give their opponents any advantages, the Capitals’ par total outlasted the Giants’ erratic batting order.
Lanning’s fifty-five from forty-one balls proved to be vital in keeping her team afloat, particularly on a day when their batting order’s depth was put to the test without the presence of big-hitter Marizanne Kapp. However, the fielders extended a helping hand to her. After the Australian had scored thirty, Kathryn Bryce missed an easy layup. She lifted her bat for a half-century after nine balls.
Several misfields and two more dropped catches followed Bryce’s carelessness, but none were as expensive. Annabel Sutherland and Jess Jonassen made brief appearances, but the Giants’ spinners did a great job of turning the tide and holding the opposition to 24
balls until the final over.
Even though a 164-run chase was unlikely, it was still feasible, particularly for a team that was eager to win for the first time this season. However, the Capitals were spot on from the first ball, while the Giants had been careless with the ball and in the field. When the Giants scored their first runs off the bat on the fourteenth ball, Shikha Pandy had already unsettled Laura Wolveaardt’s stumps with a peach of an inswinger, making the chase already feel unattainable.
As soon as captain Beth Mooney and Phoebe Litchfield were gaining ground, Lanning made a crucial bowling substitution that brought Jonassen’s left-arm spin into play during the Powerplay. In five overs, Jonassen removed both of Gujarat’s batsmen, bringing the score down to 35/3. From there, the hill was too high to climb.
The Capitals’ middle-order pressure was facilitated by the regularity of their spinners, especially Radha Yadav, who finished with a 3-20 spell to earn the purple cap and bolster her chances of being called up to the Indian T20 squad.
Despite what the scorecard might not indicate, there wasn’t much separating the two teams on Sunday. However, the Capitals’ deft use of the ball and their pitch, along with the wisdom of their captain’s crucial choices, were what really made the difference.
The Giants are still winless this season and continue to resemble the worst team in this league, much as they did halfway through the previous campaign, when they had only won one of their opening five games. When it came to her post-match assessment, Mooney was as critical as anyone.
“To be honest, we’ve bowled pretty well this tournament. In the field, we have failed the bowlers. Given how Delhi fielded, it wasn’t up to par, the Giants captain remarked. “It will be pretty helpful (in the future) to score a few more runs, probably from the captain and then flowing through the rest of the team.”
Gujarat might have to look ahead to 2025 already, with another WPL campaign almost over.
 match on Sunday, Delhi Capitals defeated Gujarat Giants by 25 runs, despite a slight){kind=link}