Gujarat Giants opener Sophie Devine smashed a fast-paced 95 in Women’s Premier League. Sophie Devine attained the milestone in Match 4 of the WPL 2025-26 season on Sunday. The match being held at DY Patil Sports Academy, Navi Mumbai, saw Sophie Devine come out all guns blazing against the Delhi Capitals. Sophie Devine hit a fifty off 25 balls before perishing for 95 from 42 balls.
Sophie Devine’s knock was laced with 7 fours and 8 sixes. She owned a strike rate of 226.19. Sophie Devine, who earlier represented RCB Women across two seasons, has raced to 535 runs from 20 matches at 28.15. Sophie Devine hammered her third WPL fifty. Notably, her best score reads 99. She is the first batter with two 90-plus scores in the tournament’s history.
Sophie Devine has once again fallen victim to the 90s curse, agonisingly missing out on becoming the first batter to score a hundred in the Women’s Premier League (WPL). Back in 2023, Devine had scored 99 off 36 balls for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) against Gujarat Giants at the Brabourne Stadium before being dismissed by Kim Garth.
This time, playing for the Giants against Delhi Capitals (DC) on January 11 at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai, Sophie Devine was dismissed by Nandini Sharma. She had smashed 95 runs off 42 balls, including seven fours and eight sixes, before falling against the run of play.
Sophie Devine, who recently retired from ODIs following the World Cup last year in India, became the first batter to be dismissed in the 90s in the match, joining Meg Lanning, who was the only other player to fall in the 90s against the Giants last year in Lucknow.
Legendary New Zealand all-rounder Sophie Devine hammered 95 runs from just 42 balls on Sunday (January 11) and then successfully defended 7 runs in the final over of the match to seal a memorable win by four runs for Gujarat Giants in the fourth league match of WPL 2026 played against Delhi Capitals at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai.
Pitch Report and Toss
Pitch Report : The dimensions here – 66 metres straight down the ground on either side. Square boundaries are much shorter, 56 metres either side. One thing that’s been crucial is how teams start up front. We saw that yesterday. There is definitely a glow to this wicket. I knew there was something familiar about it. It’s very similar to what we saw yesterday. We expect it to get really nice as the night goes on. There’s been dew every night, and it’s slid on beautifully.
This has been an absolute batter’s paradise across the last few games, but the real story has been the bowlers in the powerplay and their success. Ten out of the eleven wickets in the powerplay have come from pace bowlers. They’ve found a nice length, actually a little fuller than a good length, allowing the ball to swing and hit the stumps.
One thing to remember though, a lot of sides, especially last year in the WPL, won the toss and chose to chase. But already this season, two sides have won batting first in the three games played here. – reckons Katey Martin in her pitch report.
Toss : DC Women skipper Jemimah Rodrigues won the toss and chose to bowl considering the dew factor in the night with no changes in the playing XI. GG Women skipper Ashleigh Gardner batting first also made no changes in the Playing XI.
Nandani Sharma’s maiden hattrick with a 5-fer restricts GG to 209 after early masterclass by Sophie Devine.
Shree Charani broke the 94-run stand with a sharp return catch to dismiss Mooney but Devine didn’t let her rest. She smashed three sixes to take 19 off the over as Devine entered the 90s. In pursuit of becoming the first ever centurion of the WPL, Sophie Devine swung across the line of a slower delivery by Nandani but just miscued it to the hands of fine-leg as she departed for 95 off just 42 balls. One brought two, as Charani had Wareham dismissed in the next over cheaply.
But Devine’s wait for a century continued; she had also scored 99 for Royal Challengers Bengaluru a couple of seasons ago. Nandani, who made her WPL debut on Saturday, sent down a back-of-the-hand variation which Devine top-edged behind the wicket and Charani, running back from short fine leg, hung on to a catch that nearly touched the sky before coming down. Charani got her second wicket when Rodrigues flung to her right at cover in the next over to send back Georgia Wareham and the promising Anushka Sharma soon holed out for 13.
This brought the pair of Gardner and Anushka Sharma together, and the latter pumped a four and a six off Varma to continue the run scoring mojo. But she fell next ball after miscuing one to square leg. Bharti Fulmali too departed cheaply but Gardner continued to occupy the crease. She took 13 off Minnu Mani before clubbing sixes off Henry and Charani but holed out to long-on with her score on 49.
Gardner then took charge after getting a life on 22, even as DC exposed GG’s inexperienced lower order, and peppered the boundary regularly. She went after both pace and spin alike before finding long-on to finish on a quick 49 off 26 before DC conceded just eight runs in the last two overs. GG suffered a collapse of 4 for 8 in the end with Nandani striking thrice in a row in the last over to take the fourth hat-trick and the first by an uncapped player in the WPL.
The last over saw Nandani scalp Gautam off the second ball before Kanika Ahuja was stumped off the fourth delivery. She then bowled Gayakwad and Thakur off the last two balls to complete her hat-trick as the Giants were bowled for 209. It meant that the Giants, who were 126 for 1 in 10.3 overs, scored only 83 runs in the last 10 overs.
Lizelle Lee’s 86 and Laura Woolvardt’s 77 in vain as Sophie Devine’s magical last over powers GG to a 4 run win over DC in a thriller
The Capitals began the chase with Lee being dropped early by Renuka Thakur off her own bowling, and then taking 10 off the over. The South African continued to be the aggressor in the PowerPlay consistently finding the boundary. Shafali Verma, on the other hand, found the going tough and fell for 14 off 12 after being castled by Rajeshwari Gayakwad. The Capitals were behind the eight-ball after the PowerPlay at 47 for 1 but Lee switched gears in the eighth over off Georgia Wareham to take 16 runs and brought up her 50.
Renuka Singh put down Lizelle Lee’s tough return catch on the second ball of the chase, and the DC opener showed how costly the drop was. She crashed the next ball through the covers and finished the over with a no-look six straight down the ground. She continued to pepper the boundary even as Shafali Verma struggled for rhythm. Though DC’s powerplay score read 47 for 1 compared to GG’s 80 for 0, Lee ensured they weren’t too far behind.
If Sophie Devine’s innings was about brute force, Lee combined her well-timed drives with the odd aerial shot to keep the run rate close to nine an over. She went 4, 4 and 6 against Wareham for her 33-ball fifty as Wolvaardt played second-fiddle with GG still needing 120 from the last 10. The equation became a lot stiffer when GG’s spinners conceded just 23 in the three overs after the halfway mark before Lee tore into Wareham again.
She powered Sophie Devine for two fours and continued to look unstoppable. But Kashvee Gautam got the dangerous batter as Lee holed out to long-on. Chinelle Henry powered a couple of sixes but fell trying to hit another. Wolvaardt, who played anchor during Lee’s onslaught, switched gears and clubbed the Giants spinners regularly down the ground and towards mid-wicket.
Wolvaardt was on 28 off 20 when Lee eventually found Sophie Devine at long-on for 86, which left DC to get 79 of 34. DC promoted the big-hitting Henry ahead of Jemimah Rodrigues and Kapp, but she also holed out after just one six. Rodrigues eventually walked out at No. 5 and crashed her first ball wide of long-on for a 17-run 16th over.
GG were still well ahead with the equation reading 60 off 24. Wolvaardt then used her long limbs to attack the spinners, especially going after Gardner in the 18th over when they needed 48 from 18. She often went straight down the ground when she had the length and otherwise found the gap square or through the covers to find the boundary regularly. After three fours and a six off Gardner, she dispatched Kashvee Gautam, who started the 19th over with two no-balls, for a six over midwicket which swung the game further for DC.
She brought up her 50 after consecutive boundaries off Gardner before ending the 18th over with a four and a six to take 19 off it. With 29 needed off 12, Gautam bowled a couple of no-balls before Wolvaardt lofted her for six. The South African hammered a half-volley through the covers before Rodrigues added a crucial boundary to take 22 off the 19th over before the Giants sealed it off the last ball in the final over.
The equation came down to 7 off 6 and the first three deliveries by Sophie Devine were two dots and the wicket of Jemimah Rodrigues. Marizanne Kapp rotated strike to Wolvaardt but she could only find the hands of deep mid-wicket off the penultimate ball as Sophie Devine helped Giants seal a win from the jaws of defeat.
When Rodrigues ended the penultimate over by lofting Gautam over the covers, DC would have thought they had it in the bag with just seven to get from six. But Sophie Devine, who had earlier leaked 19 in two wicketless overs, first had Rodrigues glove one behind off a slower ball, kept Kapp to just one run off two balls, and then had Wolvaardt caught at deep midwicket with five to get off two. Rana walked out for the last ball and could’t even connect, and GG scraped through.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Jemimah Rodrigues the losing DC Women skipper said : I think I’m very proud of the girls, the way they fought back. Even in our bowling in the first innings, I think the way Sophie Devine was going, it was, she put us under a lot of pressure, but the way Nandani and Charani bowled, I think they fought back really well.
And I couldn’t have been more proud of the belief this team showed in this chase, because at one moment, we needed 15 runs an over, but to get it to the last over where we just need seven, I think I couldn’t have been more prouder. Yes, it’s a tough pill to swallow, but a lot of positives to take from here. (one area of improvement needed?) I think definitely our powerplay bowling. I think we need to get our plans more sorted.
But again, it’s tough to bowl when Sophie Devine is in such great form. And even in batting, I think the partnerships we had from the last game to come out here and show this kind of belief, I’m extremely proud. But yes, such games, you want to finish it off on the winning side.
(on Nandani) Yeah, Nandani has been one of our top picks this season. And she’s a captain’s delight. Whatever you ask her to do, she’s so accurate in doing it. And I think the kind of mindset she has, she’s ready to take it on. So, that’s what makes her special and I’m very happy for her.
(how to recover from this?) I think one thing DC has done really well is to maintain a positive team environment. I know it hurts. Last two games didn’t go our way. But it’s a long tournament. Anything can happen in cricket as long as we have the belief and we keep working hard with our plans. So, I think that’s what we are going to do. Maybe this two days off is going to help us and we are going to come back stronger.
Ashleigh Gardner the winning GG skipper said : Yeah, they’re one of those games that, you know, the game was in the balance pretty much the whole time and certainly 60 off 4 overs I think in the past you probably would be more comfortable being the bowling side but we know here in India with the wickets and the way that the batters were hitting the ball, you kind of never out of it.
So yeah, to be able to defend 7 in the last over, I felt like we stole that game but I think they’re the games that I guess give a lot of confidence into the changeroom and a lot of belief that we can kind of win from any position. (on their score) To be honest, I felt like we were probably 15 short.
I think we’re in a fantastic position to almost score 230 or more. So I guess that part of it was disappointing but we knew that, you know, their batting lineup has so much firepower which they showcased today. So we knew that 200 is a fantastic score but on grounds like this, you can, you’re never really under the pump. Going at 10s from the start, you kind of feel like you’re always in the chase.
So we knew as a bowling unit, we had to field well, we had to bowl well. There was plenty of glimpses where we did both really well, which is always pleasing. But I think like last game, there’s also still plenty of learnings going into the next game. But thankfully for us, we’ve got two wins on the board.
(on the Indian talent) Absolutely. And I think, you know, overseas players make these competitions, but I think the Indian players win you competitions. And I think if we look at the domestic talent and the Indian talent within our side, it’s so pleasing to see that they’re playing their role.
You know, our bowlers did an amazing job tonight. In particular, our two left-arm offies. And then you look at Anushka, saved that amazing catch. You know, we won by four runs and she saved four runs. So maybe that was the turning point in the game. But it’s just those small moments in the game that you need to try and win. And then thankfully for us, it was one of those moments.
Sophie Devine Player of the Match for her 95 runs with the bat and 2 wickets with the ball said : Probably just relieved I think. We knew 210 was a good score, but the batting line-up that Delhi had, the game was always in the balance. So, for us to be able to get through by four runs, you know, really pleased for this group. I think we’ll take a lot of learnings from this, but we know these pitches out here, 200, 220 probably won’t be enough for us.
(on her being in control and relaxed) Yeah, I certainly think it helps the wickets that we’re playing on, that you can play with a real sense of freedom and you can trust the bounce and just hit through the ball. And I think there were times early on batting on with Moons, it’s really nice having played so much with her in Perth Scorchers.
It’s nice to have that familiarity down the other end. So for me, it’s nice just to have her there to stay in my ear a little bit, having to keep calm and not try and swing too hard. But yeah, look, these wickets are fantastic to bat on, I think. Yeah, even the way Lizelle and Laura Wolvaardt batted today.
There’s going to be some big scores out there this tournament. (balancing her batting and bowling) I guess I’ve probably been lucky. I’ve played for a while now and I guess just taking each situation as it comes and trying to be really level with it. I think today, you know, it probably wasn’t in my favour that last over and that almost took a little bit of the pressure off in a funny way that they were the ones that had to score the runs.
So, yeah, look, I think that sort of comes with experience and just trying to stay really level and back my skill set. I think that’s something that can sometimes go out the window when you’re under pressure or you want to do so well. But for me, yeah, it’s just nice to be able to contribute to this group.
Obviously, a new team for me and that’s all you want to do. It doesn’t matter if you’ve played one game or 100 games, it doesn’t matter. It’s to be able to go out there and perform for your team. That’s what’s really pleasing.
It was the day when whatever Sophie Devine touched turned to gold. She smashed 95 off 42 balls, picked 2 for 21 and defended seven runs off the last over against the run of play as the Gujarat Giants pipped Delhi Capitals in a thriller by four runs. Lizelle Lee (86), Laura Wolvaardt (77) and Nandani Sharma’s hat-trick and five-wicket haul, in her second ever WPL game, took the Capitals close but they fell agonisingly short of the target of 210.
Gujarat Giants (GG) put on a commanding 209 and would have thought they were well ahead when Delhi Capitals’ (DC) equation read 48 off 18. But Laura Wolvaardt turned things around – almost – for DC with a 19-run over to make it 29 off 12 and then seven from six. But GG turned the tables again when Sophie Devine, who had smashed a belligerent 95 off 42, removed the two set batters in the last over and conceded just two runs to snatch a four-run victory to help GG top the table.
GG’s second win in a row became DC’s second loss on the bounce and placed them at the bottom even though their batters buried the ghosts of being bundled for 145, under 24 hours before this game. The run-fest that swung wildly throughout at the DY Patil Stadium saw a total tally of 414 – the second-highest in WPL – and was the second day in a row that GG posted a 200-plus total.
Their total could have been a lot more had DC not pulled things back through Nandani Sharma’s hat-trick after Sophie Devine’s demolition of the bowlers. DC, however, came agonisingly close, within seven runs of sealing the highest WPL chase. But Sophie Devine took the pace off the ball and the steam out of DC’s chase.
What a last over. Sophie Devine the heroine for Giants. She has defended 6. And the Giants win by 4. The game seemed to be lost when 41 came off the 18th and 19th over. Wolvaardt and Jemi were going so well and Sophie Devine turned it around to script a famous win. Earlier, Lizelle Lee, was all guns blazing and even though the asking rate was always going up, she kept the chase on track.
Wolvaardt was slow to start off but made it up with big hits. A fine game and the Giants will be thankful to Sophie Devine for pulling this off. The Capitals would be so gutted at having thrown away a winning opportunity especially with what they needed from the last over.
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