Delhi Capitals cantered to a 25-run win over Gujarat Giants despite a bit of a wobble with the bat in their Women’s Premier League (WPL) fixture on Sunday, the difference between a top-level franchise at the top of the league table and a messily-assembled, inexperienced squad had never been clearer.
Giants had done well to take wickets through the middle overs in the first innings but even as their bowling delivered, sloppy batting, careless fielding – which included dropping a few sitters – allowed Meg Lanning’s side reach 163. And by staying sharp in the field and not allowing their opponents any gifts, Capitals’ par total proved beyond Giants’ flailing batting order.
Lanning’s 41-ball 55 was crucial in avoiding a collapse for her side, especially on a day the depth of their batting order was tested in the absence of the big-hitting Marizanne Kapp. But she was given a helping hand by the fielders. Kathryn Bryce dropped a sitter when the Aussie had scored 30. Nine balls later, she raised her bat for a half-century.
Bryce’s sloppiness was followed by plenty of misfields and another two dropped catches, but none were as costly. Cameos from Annabel Sutherland and Jess Jonassen followed but Giants’ spinners did well to turn the screw, not allowing a boundary for 24 balls until the last over.
A 164-run chase was far from a foregone conclusion, but achievable, especially for a team desperate for their first win of the campaign. But where Giants had been sloppy with the ball and in the field, Capitals were on the money from ball one. The chase already felt out of reach by the time Giants got their first runs off the bat, on the 14th ball, by which time Shikha Pandey had already disturbed Laura Wolvaardt’s stumps with a peach of an in-swinger.