Deepti Sharma was the star of the show with bat and ball as the UP Warriorz clinched a thrilling one-run win after the Delhi Capitals imploded at the Arun Jaitley stadium on March 8.
Deepti scored 59 runs and picked up four wickets for 18, including a hat-trick, as the Warriorz continued the trend of the team batting first winning in Delhi this season.
Warriorz record their third win of the campaign and kept their play-off hopes alive as Meg Lanning’s knock went in vain as the Capitals lost their final 7 wickets for just 25 runs in the final three overs.
Deepti Sharma wages a lone battle
UP Warriorz had won the toss and opted to bat first at the Arun Jaitley stadium. After having lost on March 7 to the Mumbai Indians after bowling first, Healy and Co were hoping to post a big score and follow the trend of the matches in Delhi.
However, their start was far from ideal as Kiran Navgire was cleaned up by Titas Sadhu with her second ball of the innings with just 10 runs on the board. The Warriorz decided to promote Deepti to No.3 after her fine knock on Thursday and she steadied the ship with Healy.
The UP skipper would play an uncharacteristic innings and scored just 29 off 30 deliveries with Deepti being the aggressor in the partnership. Healy would finally fall in the 9th over, with the DC bowlers ensuring the Warriorz didn’t run away with their scoring.
Tahlia McGrath, who came into the side in place of Chamari Athapaththu, failed to make an impact as the Warriorz were in trouble with 62 runs on the board for the loss of three wickets in 9.5 overs.
Grace Harris and Deepti Sharma once again got the Warriorz to safety before Harris fell with the score at 95. This triggered a big collapse for the UP side as they lost Shweta Sehrawat, Poonam Khemnar and Sophie Eccelstone for just 16 runs as UPW was reduced to 116 for 7.
Deepti would step up once again and get to her second consecutive fifty of the tournament, before being the final wicket to fall as the Warriorz posted 138 runs for the loss of 8.
DC bowlers were impressive with Sadhu and Radha Yadav picking two wickets each.
Meg Lanning’s effort goes in vain
The Capitals got off to a decent start before they lost Shafali Varma as Saima Thakor cleaned her up to continue her impressive run. Lanning would then take on the onus to control the run chase and started to score boundaries at will.
It seemed like the DC skipper seemed like the only batter after Deepti who seemed to have got to grips with the nature of the track. Alice Capsey gave Lanning company, despite not being able to score at free will.
Capsey eventually fell to Eccelstone, but Lanning continued her fine run and brought fourth fifty of the 2024 edition. She also became the first player to hit three fifties in a row in the WPL.
However, the DC skipper fell to Deepti after scoring 60, with the home side still needing another 46 off 36 balls.
Jemimah and Sutherland were in the middle at the time and the Indian batter hit a fantastic six to relieve some pressure off DC. Saima came back on with DC needing 27 off 18 balls and got the wicket of Jemimah to put the game in the balance.
Jess Jonassen would then hit a six and a boundary of the last two balls of Saima’s over to make it 15 needed off the last 12 balls.
Deepti bowled the penultimate over and found instant success as she cleaned up Sutherland to once again bring a twist to the tale. The all-rounder would then dismiss Arundhati Reddy off the next ball as the momentum of the game started to swing in the favour of the Warriorz. This meant that Deepti completed her hat-trick as she had dismissed Lanning off the final ball of her third over.
She became the second player after Issy Wong to pick up a hat-trick in the WPL 2024.
Shikha Pandey would hit the third ball for a boundary to make the equation 11 off 9 balls. Deepti would then get her third wicket of the over with a brilliant fielding effort as it seemed like the Capitals were slowly starting to implode in the run chase.
Radha was facing the final over, which was bowled by Grace Harris. However, the first ball disappeared for a six as DC emerged as the favourites once again. A double later, DC needed just 2 off 4, but Radha chopped the ball on to her stumps.
Jonassen was then run out off the next ball as DC still needed two off two as Sadhu coming into bat. Harris would then pick up the final wicket as DC’s collapse was complete and the Warriorz kept their play-off hopes alive.