Just like she did in their first meeting in WPL 2026, Gujarat Giants veteran all-rounder Sophie Devine denied Delhi Capitals a famous win yet again and this time at the BCA Stadium, Kotambi, Vadodara, on Tuesday, January 27.
Sophie Devine was bestowed with the responsibility to bowl the all-important final over of the clash with nine to defend. Sneh Rana and Niki Prasad had put up a brilliant rearguard after the Capitals were in major trouble in their hunt of 175. However, Sophie Devine denied the Capitals yet again in a nerve-wracking final over of the match.
She conceded only four runs off the first four balls before dismissing Rana, caught at deep mid-wicket for 29 from 15 deliveries and then taking her team home with the wicket of Prasad on the final ball when four runs were needed as the DC batter’s holed her stroke to Ash Gardner at long-on as GG won by three runs. The Capitals’ chase went awry when they lost wickets in a pack. Despite Shafali Verma departing in the third over with the team on 26, DC were not in major trouble until they lost half of their side for 85 and then went down to 100/6.
With DC staring down the barrel, Niki Prasad and Sneh Rana stood tall to give their team a glimmer of hope. They took on the Giants bowler, hitting Gardner for 10 runs in the 16th over and then smashing Sophie Devine for 23 in the 17th. With the equation down to 37 off 18 balls, Prasad and Rana accumulated 28 runs off the next two overs to leave nine off the final over. However, the veteran Sophie Devine stood tall yet again and bowled a brilliant over to deny the Capitals their highest chase in the competition.
Sophie Devine had denied the Capitals a historic win previously, too. With the Capitals brilliantly positioned to chase 210 after an insane power-hitting from Laura Wolvaardt, Sophie Devine spoiled the party and defended seven off the final over. Had DC chased that down, it would have been the highest chase in the history of the WPL.
Sophie Devine, who shone in the final over, finished with 4/37 from four overs. Rajeshwari Gayakwad also took three wickets for 20 runs in four overs. According to ESPNcricinfo, the former recorded her maiden four-wicket haul in the WPL. The GG seamer now has 24 wickets from 25 WPL matches at an average of 20.08. Her tally includes an economy of 8.33. According to Cricbuzz, Sophie Devine became the first player to defend less than 10 runs in the final over in the WPL. Earlier this season, Sophie Devine brought back GG from the jaws of defeat, defending six runs against DC.
History repeated itself in Vadodara as Sophie Devine once again became the nightmare for Delhi Capitals. In a high-stakes Gujarat Giants vs Delhi Capitals WPL 2026 encounter, Sophie Devine displayed ice-cool nerves to defend just eight runs in the final over. Her brilliant bowling performance handed the Giants a narrow three-run win, propelling them to the second spot on the WPL points table.
Pitch and Toss Report
Pitch Report : It’s a different pitch at the Kotambi stadium in Vadodara. it’s pitch number 4 tonight, which means there’ll be a difference in the dimensions. The left side boundaries will be bigger, and as you go along, the boundaries will become shorter on the offside and beyond square as well. But the straight boundaries will always be longer, like you get in other venues. The surface is a black soil pitch and it is pretty hard. There’s been a little bit of grass in the center, so anything pitched short and if the bowler uses a shoulder, there will be a good consistent bounce on this wicket.
At the start of this leg, we’ve seen because the wickets was on a little slower side, the fast bowlers got wickets back-end with their pace variation, back of the hand, and spinners, left-arm spinners have troubled the batters because they got a little hint of turn and a little slower off the wicket. They troubled the batters, last night it was 200, so we expect a high-scoring game. Yes, we’re in for a run feast, reckons Mithali Raj, in her pitch report.
Toss : DC Women skipper Jemimah Rodrigues won the toss and chose to bowl with no changes in the Playing XI. GG Women skipper Ashleigh Gardner batting first made 2 changes in the Playing XI with Danielle-Wyatt Hodge and Happy Kumari making way for Georgia Wareham and Tanuja Kanwar.
Shree Charani’s 4-fer restricts GG-W to 174 for 9 in 20 overs after a solid half century from Beth Mooney.
Earlier, put in to bat, Beth Mooney and Sophie Devine began well for the Giants scoring four boundaries across the first two overs. Marizanne Kapp continued to boss the PowerPlay and had Sophie Devine bowled with a nip-backer which straightened enough to have her playing all around it. Anushka Sharma and Mooney joined hands together, and the former continued to showcase her prowess on the big stage.
Anushka Sharma walked out at 19 for 1 after Devine fell to Marizanne Kapp in the third over and, in a brief but decisive stay, wrested momentum from DC. Nervy at first, she soon settled, trusting her bottom hand and playing the ball rather than the bowler. A back-foot punch past mid-off off Nandani Sharma brought her first boundary, and it was followed by a wristy clip through midwicket that underlined her control.
Anushka Sharma played some sublime shots with five boundaries across two overs, including three off Kapp. After a backfoot punch down the ground, she successfully showcased the flicks through the onside and some lofts over the covers before timing a drive through the covers as the Giants raced to 53 in the PowerPlay, the second highest PowerPlay score in Vadodara this season. The runs continued to flow off Anushka’s willow as she hit Rana for successive boundaries.
Kapp, with the best powerplay economy in this WPL at under five, bore the brunt in the fifth over as Anushka opened her shoulders for three fours, driving and whipping through square leg with minimal fuss. She struck eight fours in all and looked set for a big score, but after being dropped by Chinelle Henry at mid-off off N Shree Charani, she attempted a slog sweep the next ball and was caught by Minnu Mani at deep midwicket for 39, leaving GG 73 for 2 in the ninth over.
Chinelle Henry put Anushka down off Shree Charani but it didn’t cost DC as she holed out to deep mid-wicket off the next delivery. Kapp conceded three more fours in her final over as the Giants continued to score freely until Ashleigh Gardner holed out to Rana at long-on. Mooney moved to 50 in a calculated innings off 40 balls, but Charani got the ominous Georgia Wareham who missed a sweep shot. Wickets continued to fall as Henry removed Fulmali.
Beth Mooney held the innings together with a composed knock. She was 16 off 18 balls when Anushka fell, and had managed just one boundary until then. At the halfway stage, GG were 80 for 2. Jemimah Rodrigues’ decision to bowl out Kapp in the 11th over, however, worked in Mooney’s favour as she smashed three fours off her. Having found her rhythm, Mooney hit two more boundaries to backward point to bring up her first fifty of this WPL, off 40 balls. Mooney’s stay was cut short in the 17th over by Nandani’s slower ball.
The innings then unravelled, with GG losing wickets in a cluster between the 15th and 18th overs, with Georgia Wareham, Bharti Fulmali, Kanika Ahuja and Kashvee Gautam all falling, Charani even striking twice in an over.
It got worse for the Giants as Mooney chipped one straight to mid-off. Charani castled Kashvee Gautam to pick up her fourth as the Giants collapsed from 128 for 3 to 139 for 7.Tanuja Kanwer then played a fine cameo (21 off 11) that consisted of three fours and a maximum to take the Giants to 174 for 9, which proved just about enough.
Just as DC seemed to pull the game back, Tanuja Kanwar – who had missed the previous game – lifted GG to a competitive 174 with an 11-ball 21. She capped it 15 runs off Henry in the final over, smoking a six over the bowler’s head after hitting two fours. Charani finished as DC’s best bowler, returning 4 for 31.
Sophie Devine’s defining spell powers GG to a 3 runs win over DC -Women in a thriller
Presentations and Road Ahead
Jemimah Rodrigues the losing DC-Women skipper said : Firstly, I have to credit the way Sneh Rana and Niki played – it was outstanding. That partnership was special. They kept fighting till the very end, brought us so close, and gave us real hope. These things happen in cricket, but it would have been nice to cross the line. As long as our batters were out there, we knew there was still hope. We kept believing, and more importantly, they kept believing.
That’s what brought us so close. Outstanding work from both of them, especially Niki. She’s young, but the way she played, combined with Rana’s experience, was really impressive. They were the ones who kept us going and kept that belief alive. I don’t know what else to say – they were outstanding.
Even though we didn’t win today, the way they played was exceptional. I think we did a lot of things well with the ball, but in the last few overs we probably conceded 15-20 runs extra. With the bat, we needed stronger partnerships from the top order, including myself. That’s where it didn’t quite click.
The fight shown at the end was really encouraging. Yes, that game is going to be very important. We have a short break before it, so it’s about regrouping as a team. We’ve got one more game left, we’re still in the tournament, and we’re going to keep fighting.
Ashleigh Gardner the winning GG-Women skipper said : It’s definitely been a bit of a rollercoaster. At the end of the day, we’re in the entertainment industry, and I think we certainly did that for the fans here at the venue and watching on TV. We did our job in that sense, but my heart rate was probably through the roof in that last over. I think the wickets have progressively got better over the last couple of games.
You saw last night – 200 was scored and almost chased down and tonight, what we scored was nearly chased as well. So it’s probably a combination of the wickets improving and batters getting more used to them. I’d say around 170 to 180 was par on that wicket. I think we bowled really well for about 17 overs and then let them back in right at the end. For us bowlers, it’s about keeping things really simple. When you overcomplicate bowling, that’s when it doesn’t work.
On a wicket like this, you’ve got to keep the stumps in play for as long as possible. It sounds cliche, but it’s about finding the right lengths, mixing pace and using your variations well. I thought our two left-arm spinners did that really well overall. It was a spinner-friendly wicket, and Sophie was pivotal through her four overs – changing pace and keeping the stumps in play consistently. Consistency is key.
We’ve had a few close games – wins and losses, so staying consistent in your messaging is important. We’ll celebrate the win and the small moments players contributed, but realistically, we’ve got one more game to play and we need to win that to be confident about making the playoffs. Enjoying tonight is great, but we play again in a couple of days. We’ll quickly shift focus to Mumbai, a team we haven’t had the best record against. Hopefully, we can change that and head into the finals with confidence.
Sophie Devine Player of the Match for her match turning spell of 4 wickets said : To be honest, I felt like I probably owed one to Ash. I got absolutely pumped in one of my overs and put a bit of pressure back on us when we probably had the game under control. I thought it was incredibly brave of Ash to bowl the penultimate over as an off-spinner into the shorter side.
But it was pretty similar to our last game against them, just staying really calm and keeping the plans as simple as possible. I think one of the most important things as an overseas player is leaving your ego at the door and being okay with asking for help. That’s the really cool thing about playing in these conditions, coming from New Zealand, Australia or England, they’re pretty foreign to us. So it’s about asking the local players how they go about it because they’ve got far more experience here.
Having those conversations and then making small tweaks to adapt your own game has been really key. At the start of the tournament, you spend a lot of time just getting volume in and that’s really important for me. Everyone’s different, though. As the tournament goes on, I actually train less and less. I think that’s important both physically and mentally, especially towards the back end of a competition. For me, it’s about managing the mind and body so that when game day comes, I’m 100 percent ready, that’s what really matters.
It’s been awesome sharing the dressing room with this group. I thought the way Moons (Mooney) batted today was outstanding, she gave us the perfect platform. Anushka was incredible again with the bat, the talent she has is special. And Rajeshwari Gayakwad with the ball, honestly, she probably deserved Player of the Day alongside Moons. But that’s what’s made it really special, it’s been a real team effort. Sharing experiences, learning from each other, it’s been a very happy change room tonight.
Sophie Devine (4 for 37) came clutch in the final over yet again as she defended nine runs in the final over as Gujarat Giants beat Delhi Capitals in a thrilling encounter in Vadodara. It was a sense of deja vu for both sides and for Sophie Devine as the New Zealander had successfully defended seven in the reverse fixture in Navi Mumbai. The Giants also became the first team to do the double over the Capitals in a WPL season with the three-run win.
It must have felt like deja vu for Delhi Capitals. On January 11, Sophie Devine defended six in the final over to help Gujarat Giants secure their second win of the season. Sixteen days later, she was again tasked with defending a small total – eight runs – in the final over in DC’s chase of 175, after conceding 23 in her previous over. Sophie Devine delivered again, removing Niki Prasad and Sneh Rana to give GG a three-run win. It took them to second place on the points table and a big step towards the knockouts.
Before that dramatic finish, DC had looked dangerous, thanks to late cameos from Prasad and Rana. From 100 for 6, the two put on a 70 off just 31 balls to almost pull off a miracle.
The Gujarat Giants register a close 3-run victory to surge back into second place on the points table. Earlier in the evening, the Giants produced a clinical batting display to set up a formidable total of 174. Beth Mooney anchored the innings with a composed fifty, while valuable contributions from Anushka Sharma and Tanuja Kanwer ensured the score comfortably breached the 170 mark. Chasing 175, Delhi Capitals got off to a brisk start through Shafali Verma, but her innings was cut short by Gayakwad in the third over.
A handful of DC batters showed promise during the middle phase, but none managed to convert their starts into decisive knocks. Sophie Devine continued her remarkable dominance over Lee, dismissing her for the 11th time in T20s, and also accounted for Jemimah Rodrigues for the fifth time in the format. The pressure only intensified as Ashleigh Gardner removed Marizanne Kapp in the middle overs, keeping wickets tumbling at regular intervals.
A spirited knock from Niki Prasad and a fine cameo by Rana provided a spark as they took the game deep, but the Giants kept their cool towards the end and won a close encounter. Sophie Devine conceded 23 runs in the the 17th over, but she ends up taking 4 wickets.
Also Read:Â ENG vs IND : Shubman Gill Appointed Test Skipper For Red Ball