Why Gujarat Giants’ messily-assembled, inexperienced squad may already be forced to start looking towards next WPL
The scorecard may not suggest so, but not a lot separated the two teams on Sunday. But Capitals' sharpness with the ball and in the field, as well as the effectiveness of their skipper’s key decisions, made all the difference.
Gujarat Giants' batter Ashleigh Gardner looks disappointed after being stumped by Delhi Capitals wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia during the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2024 match at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday. (PTI Photo) As 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.
Turning point
Once skipper Beth Mooney and Phoebe Litchfield were building momentum, a key bowling change from Lanning, bringing Jonassen’s left-arm spin into the picture inside the Powerplay, delivered immediately. Jonassen took out both batters to reduce Gujarat to 35/3 inside five overs. It was too high a hill to climb from there.
The middle-order squeeze from Capitals was thanks to the consistency of their spinners, particularly Jonassen and Radha Yadav, the latter’s 3-20 spell giving her the purple cap, and strengthening her case for a potential recall to India’s T20 setup.
The scorecard may not suggest so, but not a lot separated the two teams on Sunday. But Capitals’ sharpness with the ball and in the field, as well as the effectiveness of their skipper’s key decisions, made all the difference.
Giants remain winless this season, and look like the worst of the five teams in this league just like they had looked midway through the first season – when they won only one of their first five games. Mooney was as critical as anyone in her assessment post-match.
“Our bowling this tournament has been pretty good, to be fair. We have let the bowlers down in the field. Not up to the standards, given how Delhi fielded,” the Giants captain said. “Scoring a few more runs will be pretty helpful (in the future), probably from the skipper and then flowing through the rest of the team.”
With another WPL campaign all but over, Gujarat may be forced to start looking towards 2025 already.
Brief scores: Delhi Capitals 163/8 in 20 overs (Meg Lanning 55, Alice Capsey 27; Meghana Singh 4/37) beat Gujarat Giants: 138/8 in 20 overs (Ashleigh Gardner 40; Jess Jonassen 3/22, Radha Yadav 3/20) by 25 runs
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