Delhi Capitals Women vs Gujarat Giants Women, 17th Match, Women's Premier League 2026 - Commentary

That brings an end to our coverage of the day. We'll be back on Thursday (29th Jan) with the coverage of the RCB Women vs UP Warriorz Women clash. Goodbye and good night!

Sophie Devine | Player of the Match: 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.

Ashleigh Gardner: 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.

Anushka Sharma: To be honest, I’m out of words. It was another nail-biting finish against DC. Full credit to Sophie and the catches we took - they were brilliant. Those moments made a huge difference. When they were four or five wickets down, I genuinely felt we had the match in our hands. But the way Niki batted, she played exceptionally well and almost took the game away from us. That said, we managed to hold on, and in the end, the win is what matters. The best is still yet to come. The wicket was good to bat on, so yes I enjoyed my time out there. But honestly, I feel I could have done better. There’s always room for improvement. Nothing specific, really. I’ll just stick to the same intent, back my strengths, and play according to the situation. Let’s see how it goes. There was a bit of pain at the time (on her wrist), but it’s all fine now.

Jemimah: 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.

Best bowling figures for GG-W in WPL
5/36 - KIm Garth vs UPW, DY Patil, 2023
4/37 - Meghna Singh vs DC, Bengaluru, 2024
4/37 - Sophie Devine vs DC, Vadodara, 2026*

Most drop catches in WPL 2026
13 - GG (68.2 Ct%)
11 - MI (73.1 Ct%)
9 - RCB (76.9 Ct%)
8 - UPW (70.3 Ct%)
7 - DCW (81.5 Ct%)

Fewest win margin in WPL (in runs)
1 - UPW vs DC, Delhi, 2024
1 - DC vs RCB, Delhi, 2024
2 - RCB vs UPW, Bengaluru, 2024
3 - GG vs DC, Vadodara, 2026*
4 - GG vs DC, DY Patil, 2026

Fewer runs successfully defended in the final over in WPL
6 - Sophie Devine (GG-W) vs DC-W, DY Patil, 2026
8 - Sophie Devine (GG-W) vs DC-W, Vadodara, 2026*
9 - Grace Harris (UPW) vs (DC-W), Delhi, 2024
10 - Sophie Molineux (RCB-W) vs (UPW), Bengaluru, 2024
11 - Asha Sobhana (RCB-W) vs (MI-W), Delhi, 2024

GG-W is the first team to do a double over DC-W in a WPL season.

Highest partnership for 7th wicket or lower in WPL
70* - Grace Harris & S Eccelestone (UPW) vs GG, DY Patil, 2023
70 - Nikki Prasad & Sneh Rana (DC) vs GG, Vadodara, 2026*
57 - S Ecclestone & Chinelle Henry (UPW) vs DC, Bengaluru, 2025
55 - Richa Ghosh & Shreyanka Patil (RCB) vs MI, Vadodara, 2026

In this WPL season:
M4: GG vs DC - Devine defended 6 runs, and GG won by 4 runs
M17: GG vs DC - Devine defended 8 runs, and GG won by 3 runs

23:14 Local Time, 17:44 GMT, 23:14 IST: 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. Devine conceded 23 runs in the the 17th over, but she ends up taking 4 wickets. Stay around for the presentations..

Sophie Devine to Niki Prasad, THATS OUT!! Caught!!

Equation: 4 runs needed in 1 ball

Equation: 5 runs required in 2 balls