Gujarat Giants Edge Delhi Capitals by 3 Runs to Secure Second Spot in WPL Standings

Vadodara. The Gujarat Giants secured their fourth victory in the fourth season of the Women's Premier League (WPL), climbing to second place in the standings.

In a highly competitive match held on Tuesday at the Kotali Stadium in Vadodara, Gujarat stunned the Delhi Capitals by 3 runs. Beth Mooney's half-century and the lethal bowling of Sophie Devine and Rajeshwari Gayakwad were decisive in Gujarat's win.

Batting first after losing the toss, Gujarat posted a challenging total of 174 runs in their allotted 20 overs. Despite early setbacks, Beth Mooney and Anushka Sharma built a half-century partnership, pushing the team into a strong position.

After Anushka was dismissed for 39 runs, Gujarat's middle order faltered slightly, but Mooney anchored the innings with a captain's knock of 58 runs. While the lower-order batters were dismissed cheaply, Tanuja Kanwar provided an explosive contribution of 21 runs off 11 balls at the end, taking the score to 174. Shikha Pandey was excellent for Delhi, taking 4 wickets.

Chasing a target of 175 runs, Delhi suffered a defeat due to regular loss of wickets. Opener Shafali Verma was out for 14 and Lizelle Lee for 11, while dependable middle-order batters Marizanne Kapp was dismissed for zero and Jemimah Rodrigues for 16.

For Delhi, who were in trouble at 100/6, Nicki Prasad fought until the end with 47 runs and Sneha Rana added 29, but they could not secure the win. For Gujarat, Sophie Devine took 4 wickets and Rajeshwari Gayakwad dismantled the Delhi innings with 3 wickets.

With this victory, Gujarat secured second place in the points table, surpassing Mumbai Indians with 8 points from 7 matches. The final match against Mumbai on January 30 will decide the playoff journey. Bengaluru has already qualified for the playoffs with 10 points, while Delhi is in fourth place with 6 points and UP is at the bottom with 4 points.