At the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow, the Gujarat Giants defeated the Delhi Capitals Women in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025 match No. 17 by a narrow margin. When Delhi’s league stage campaign came to a close on Friday, March 07, Gujarat was just inches ahead in their final-over chase against Meg Lanning & Co.
Speaking of the first innings, the Capitals got off to a roaring start thanks to Lanning and Shafali Verma‘s opening duo, scoring 51 runs in the powerplay without dropping a wicket. They kept up the attack, scoring 86 runs between them before Shafali Verma left after scoring 40 off 27 balls. In the first inning, DC scored 177/5 thanks to a strong knock by Lanning and others.
Gujarat’s chase didn’t get off to the best start because they lost opener Dayalan Hemalatha in the second over. But thanks to Beth Mooney and Harleen Deol’s excellent collaboration, everything got back on track. Minnu Mani ended their 85-run partnership between them. Harleen Deol worked with others to maintain composure and blast past the mark in the final over because the game appeared to be close.
Talking Points
1. The WPL has yet to receive its first centurion.
The stage was set for the DC captain to make history tonight by becoming the first player in WPL history to score a hundred goals. Nevertheless, with a few balls remaining in the innings and Lanning still eight runs short of the milestone, she attempted the big hieve, utterly missing the ball’s line and leaving for a respectable 92 runs off 57 balls, adorned with 15 boundaries and a maximum. Even so, her team lost in the end.
2. Harleen is a powerful woman.
With Hemalatha out of the game early on, Harleen had to work with seasoned campaigner Beth Mooney to keep the scoreboard moving. She succeeded in doing so, and Harleen Deol continued to play to the very finish, scoring an undefeated 70 off 49 balls, even as Mooney returned to the dressing room. In addition to her collaboration with the stumper-batter, Ash Gardner and Deandra Dottin provided her with invaluable assistance.
3. From ashes, giants emerge
Gujarat has made a great return after finishing as bottom-peddlers in the first two seasons. They are sit second in the WPL 2025 Points Table after winning four of their last seven games this season. a victory over the third-place Mumbai Indians Women in their upcoming match. To guarantee a spot in the Eliminator, both teams will be itching for a victory. In relation to that, UP Warriorz have been disqualified from the tournament.
Who Said What?
Meg Lanning, Delhi Capitals and Losing captain, said
That is how this tournament goes. We knew it was going to be a difficult game. Full credit to Gujarat, they put us under pressure and were too good in the end. We lost wickets throughout the innings and that stalled us. We felt it was going to get better and we felt we were 15-20 short (of where we wanted to be). It was nice to contribute tonight, but would have loved to get the win. Some really good stuff (from the team) and we now look forward to the playoffs.
It is going to play a really crucial part in the tournament. The effort was there tonight. Just about doing the basics as often as you can. We have a few days to reset and see how the rest of the tournament unfolds, which looks like it will be exciting. No, not at all. We have to play two great games, that is what we are looking forward to. About putting our best foot forward. Exciting competition that is still pretty open and we will see who we come up against.
Ash Gardner, Gujarat Giants and Winning Captian, said
We did a good job with the ball to peg them back, we knew it was a par score on this surface. Different people stood up today. Meghna, I was so pleased for her. She puts in a lot of effort in the nets and its good to see her get the rewards. It was just strategy to not bowl myself, people who bowled did a good job and I wasn’t needed. Harleen played different roles throughout the tournament and she was able to adopt very well. She struck the ball beautifully tonight, it was awesome to see her play positive cricket.
Harleen Deol, Player of the Match, said
After winning the game, you feel very pleased after scoring runs for the team. When I was batting, the ball was not coming nicely onto the bat, so was just trying to play till the end. I knew we had batters to come, and they did what they had to do at that time. (Partnership and running between the wickets with Mooney) When you are batting with her, you just have to hit it and run. She closes her eyes and sprints for the run, so it is easier with her.
When she hits boundaries, she also gets singles, so you keep getting the strike (smiles). When Kashvee came in, I knew she is good at hitting sixes. I told her that Shikha di would bowl at the stumps and that the ball was keeping low, so to just close her eyes and hit straight, and she will hit a six. When you are scoring runs and the team is winning, that is what you dream as a player. Just want to contribute to the team, whether it be while batting, bowling or fielding.
India
