UP Warriorz managed to hold onto their nerves as they beat Delhi Capitals by a mere margin of 1-run in match 15 of TATA WPL 2024 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.It was the golden arm of Deepti Sharma, first with the bat (59 off 48) and then with the ball with figures of 4-0-19-4 that powered UPW to a 1-run victory.
Her magical spell also included a hat-trick across two overs as she picked up DC skipper Meg Lanning on the final ball of the 14th over and then picking up two back-to-back wickets of Annabel Sutherland and Arundhati Reddy in the first two balls of the 19th over.
Chasing 139, Delhi Capitals openers started on a strong note, especially Shafali Varma scoring 9 runs in the very first over of the innings that included two fours. However, just when Shafali started to find her groove, her stumps were castled by the very impressive Saima Thakor.
Captain Lanning was then joined by Alice Capsey as the duo guided DC to 35/1 at the end of powerplay. Just when Alice Capsey was looking to cut loose, she was dismissed by Sophie Ecclestone, right after hitting a gigantic six.
Meg Lanning took the control of the run chase and brought her 4th fifty of the season by hitting three fours in the 13th over.But much to the relief of UPW, Deepti Sharma got the priced wicket of captain Meg Lanning which turned out to be a crucial point in the juncture of the match.
Jemimah Rodrigues started confidently and played a sensational shot stepping out over long-on for a maximum. Just when DC were cruising along for a comfortable win, Jemimah felt prey to Saima Thakor.
It all came down to Grace Harris to bowl the final over, with DC requiring 10 runs. While she conceded 6 off her first ball, Grace Harris bounced back with a wicket of Radha Yadav followed by a run-out of Jess Jonassen. The all-rounder then dismissed Titas Sadhu to seal the game with 1 ball remaining.
Earlier, UP Warriorz elected to bat first against Mumbai Indians.UPW got an early blow in the form of Kiran Navgire, who was cleaned up by an in-swinging delivery from Titas Sadhu in only the second over of the match.
Deepti Sharma saw a promotion in the batting order as she walked out to bat at no.3. Captain Alyssa Healy and Deepti kept the runs ticking as the duo ended the powerplay with 44/1.Alice Capsey then dismissed the UPW captain Alyssa Healy, who was caught at long-on. Not much later, Tahlia McGrath was clean bowled by a superb delivery from Arundhati Reddy in the very next over.
As wickets continued to fall from one end, Deepti Sharma held the innings together with a composed knock. Grace Harris (14 off 12) was dropped by captain Meg Lanning at covers off the bowling of Radha Yadav. But that didn’t prove to be costly as she mistimed one straight into the hands of Jess Jonassen.
Deepti Sharma was eventually dismissed for 59 by Shikha Pandey. DC’s disciplined bowling ensured that UPW were restricted to 138/8 in the first innings. (UNI)
