WPL: GG beat DC as Devine’s 95 trumps Nandani’s hat-trick

Gujarat Giants beat Delhi Capitals by 4 runs in WPL, with Sophie Devine scoring 95 and Nandani Sharma taking a hat-trick in a thrilling match.

Navi Mumbai: In a thrilling contest where two openers well into their thirties showcased the value that class and experience can still carry in T20 cricket, Sophie Devine’s 42-ball 95 trumped Lizelle Lee’s 54-ball 86 as Gujarat Giants (GG) beat Delhi Capitals (DC) by four runs in the Women’s Premier League here on Sunday.

Sophie Devine starred with a 95 and a superb final over under pressure to steer Gujarat Giants to a thrilling four-run win . (PTI)

If it was the Devine-Lee show at the top with the bat, it was about Nandani Sharma at the death with the ball. The DC pacer conjured a hat-trick and a four-wicket final over, going off for a catch-me-if-you-can celebratory run after the final ball of the GG innings.

But it was Devine who flexed her arms after the final ball of the DC chase, defending 7 off 6 balls after removing skipper Jemimah Rodrigues and a set Laura Wolvaardt.

In the end, the target of 210 remained a tad too stiff for DC, who’ve begun the season with two defeats. New DC captain Rodrigues has some thinking to do, while Ashleigh Gardner can savour GG’s win-win start.

Devine, out in the 90s for a second time in WPL – she was dismissed for 99 playing for RCB vs GG in 2023 – had luck initially. Her gush of boundaries began with a couple of edges and a couple of misfields. It spilled into a mammoth 32-run sixth over from Sneh Rana, in which Devine’s powerful cut wasn’t grasped at point. That was the second consecutive four struck square on either side. What followed was a mixture of carefree hitting, unadaptable bowling and inexperienced captaincy.

Devine went 6-6-6-6, the first down the ground and the next three through midwicket. Rodrigues went up to her senior off-spinner for lengthy chats after almost every ball, yet each one was fired into Devine’s hitting arc from around the wicket.

GG sprinted to the second-highest WPL Powerplay score of 80. A clever back-of-the-hand slower ball from Nandani got Devine to top edge a heave. That gave DC a breather, and frequent wickets thereon breathed life into them. DC chipping away meant that despite Ashleigh Gardner’s stroll-in-the-park 26-ball 49, GG didn’t quite get the finish, from 122/1 at the halfway mark. The finish, instead, was dictated by Nandani’s five-for.

Lee dictated the start of the chase. Despite Shafali falling early, Lee kept the boundaries ticking without being too extravagant. The bespectacled South African found a perfect partner in compatriot Wolvaardt, the duo raising 90 runs for the second wicket. Wolvaardt took over after back-to-back blows of Lee and Chinelle Henry.

With 41 needed off 18, Wolvaardt smashed three fours and a six off a 19-run Gardner over. Kashvee Gautam’s no-ball littered penultimate over also leaked 22 runs as Wolvaardt and Rodrigues cashed in with three boundaries.

They looked set to finish it off until Devine had the last laugh.