Both Delhi Capitals and UP Warriorz came into their match on the back of heartbreaking defeats in their Women’s Premier League (WPL) openers after having victory in sight.
The margins were incredibly fine. The contrast, however, couldn’t have been starker on Monday as DC thumped UPW in a one-sided affair to win by nine wickets with 33 balls to spare.
From the moment the coin fell in favour of Meg Lanning, barely anything went right for UP Warriorz.
Opting to bowl first, Lanning handed the ball to Powerplay specialist Marizanne Kapp, who responded with a four-over burst of high quality, registering stunning figures of 4-1-5-3. Spinner Radha Yadav, who Lanning later said had come into this match as if with a point to prove, picked up four wickets. All UPW could manage was 119/9 in their 20 overs.
If that felt under par at first glance, Shafali Verma and Lanning made it seem woefully inadequate. The duo, by some distance the best opening combination in the WPL last year, put on another three-figure stand, both scoring half-centuries.
While the batting effort was destructive, it was the bowling that had set up the win for DC. Kapp started the night getting her away-swingers right and choking the UPW batters with a nagging fourth-stump line on a good length. Vrinda Dinesh was the first to go, slicing one to deep third as she struggled for timing. In her next over, Kapp broke the back of UPW’s batting, with the wickets of Tahlia McGrath and captain Alyssa Healy.
McGrath, who struggled to get bat on ball when it swung away, was cleaned up by one that straightened after angling in. She missed the line completely and the ball struck the top of off. Healy, trying to force the pace, was caught sharply by a backtracking Shafali.
Then, it was over to Radha who showed great courage to keep flighting the ball against UPW’s big hitters, despite being taken for boundaries. Her first victim was Grace Harris, who fell after hitting a four. Then it was Kiran Navgire, who was caught and bowled by a teasing delivery outside off, moments after sending one soaring into the stands. It is that conviction in her craft that left Lanning impressed.