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WPL 2026, Match 20: DC battle past UP to secure Eliminator spot, knock out MI

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Delhi Capitals Women

Delhi Capitals Women (Source: X/@WPLT20)

Vijeet Rathi

Vijeet Rathi

Published - 01 Feb 2026, 09:19 PM Read time - 3 mins

Delhi Capitals (DC) and UP Warriorz (UP) locked horns in the last league match of the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2026 at the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara on Sunday, February 1. DC won the toss and elected to bowl first. The team made no changes to their XI while UP went in with three - Charli Knott and wicket-keeper Shipra Giri made their WPL debuts while Deandra Dottin made a comeback. Shweta Sehrawat, Amy Jones, and Chloe Tryon were left out.

UP suffered a big blow early on as captain Meg Lanning was trapped leg before wicket by Chinelle Henry off the first ball of the innings. Debutant Knott had to come to the crease earlier than she might have thought as the responsibility to provide a good start fell on her and opener Deepti Sharma's shoulders.

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The duo were unable to cut loose as Henry and Marizanne Kapp kept things tight. That brought a wicket of Knott (12 off 12) in the fourth over and Deepti's (24 off 19) in Kapp's next over as UP ended the powerplay at 36/3. New batter Harleen Deol (3 off 11) could not get going, so did Deandra Dottin (5 off 9) as UP lost half their side in the 10th over for 52 runs.

The pitch did not seem like a high-scoring one and so the Warriorz, perhaps, recalibrated the target they wanted to set. Add to that the wickets that they lost and putting up a decent total became their main priority.

The lower order, to UP's relief, contributed with much-needed cameos. Simran Shaikh (22 off 14) and Shikha Pandey (23* off 13), in particular, provided the run rate with a boost while Asha Sobhana (13 off 13) and Sophie Ecclestone (10 off 20) supported the duo.

UP ended up at 122/8 in their 20 overs. The DC bowlers did a commendable job with Kapp (3/30) and Henry (2/25) producing the best figures.

The dangerous opening pair of Lizelle Lee and Shafali Verma could not conjure up many runs this evening as the South African was caught out for a run-a-ball 10. Laura Wolvaardt replaced her compatriot at the crease as the new pair added runs at a steady rate. DC ended the powerplay at 38/1 as the duo looked comfortable in the middle.

The situation did not require taking any undue risks and the batters understood it. The patience paid off as Wolvaardt found a way to knock four boundaries off Kranti Gaud in the ninth over, wiping off any jitters that might have been there.

But, just when victory was in sight UP struck. Wolvaardt (47 off 36) was sent back by Deepti as the formidable 73-run partnership was broken. If one might have thought that would be the only blow DC would suffer after being so close to their destination, they were wrong. Set batter Shafali (29 off 33), Kapp (0 off 5), and Henry (1 off 4) were dismissed in the space of two overs with just four runs being added.

The game became tense out of nowhere as captain Jemimah Rodrigues (34* off 18) and Niki Prasad (4* off 6) came to the crease. Better sense prevailed as the new pair did not do anything silly though. DC romped home in the end with five wickets in hand and eight balls remaining. For UP, Deepti (2/27) was the standout bowler while Pandey (1/17) was the most economical.

With this win, DC confirmed a place in the Eliminator against Gujarat Giants on February 3. Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians and UP missed out on going further in the competition.

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