The Women’s Premier League doesn’t seem to have enough of Sophie Devine’s magical performances. And Delhi Capitals will be ruing the fact that Devine has turned out to be their nemesis twice in the tournament. On January 11, Devine defended six in the final over to help Gujarat Giants secure their second win. Sixteen days later, she was once again tasked with defending a small total – eight runs – in the final over in DC’s chase of 175, after conceding 23 in her previous. Devine delivered once again, removing Nikki Prasad and Sneh Rana to give the Giants a three-run win. It took them to second place on the points table and a big step toward the knockouts.
Before that dramatic finish, Capitals had looked dangerous, thanks to late cameos from Prasad and Rana. From 100 for 6, the duo put on a 70 off just 31 balls to almost pull off a miracle but it was Devine intervention for the Giants yet again in Vadodara on Tuesday.
“Got absolutely pumped in one of those overs and brought them back in. Brave from Ash to bowl to the shorter side in the 19th. Tried to stay calm and keep it as simple as possible (in the 20th over). Really important when you come in as overseas players to leave your ego at the door and actually ask for help. Conditions are pretty foreign for us, so it is about asking the locals how to play. That’s been a key thing – having some cool conversations and making those tweaks to see how you can adapt to the conditions. At the start, you spend a lot of time getting volume (of training) in. Very important that you stay fresh (physically and mentally) and ensuring that you are 100 percent when it comes to game day. Been awesome to share the dressing room. Mooney was outstanding. Anushka again was fantastic. It is a real team effort,” said Devine after the stupendous win.
Sophie Devine (401) became only the second player to take 400-plus wickets in women’s T20s, after Amelia Kerr (414). Sneh Rana was Devine’s 400th wicket in T20s.
Batting first, Giants were well served by opener Beth Mooney, who scored a fine 58, and youngster Anushka Sharma, who made 39. Down the order, Tanuja Kanwar made 21 to help the Giants reach 174 for nine.
Delhi bowlers did exceedingly well to restrict the Giants to a manageable score. Spinner Sree Charani was the pick of the bowlers as she picked up four for 31 to continue with her impressive journey. But the batters let the side down as they lost too many wickets early on. Delhi kept losing wickets and there was no momentum in the innings till Nikki (47) and Sneh (29) got together and fashioned a remarkable comeback, which just fell short of the target.
“It is a bit of a rollercoaster. We are in the entertainment industry at the end of the day and we entertained. Did our job with that but my heart rate was going through the roof in that last over (smiles). Wickets have gotten progressively better. Last night, 200 almost chased down and what we scored, almost chased down again. 170-180 was par. We bowled well for 17 overs and then let them back in at the end,” said Giants skipper Ashleigh Gardner.
“For us bowlers, we need to keep it simple. When you overcomplicate it, it does not work. Our two left arm spinners did that really well today. You need to stay consistent. Had a couple of close matches, been on the winning side and losing side. We have one more game, we need to win that to be confident of being in the playoffs. Being able to celebrate tonight is fantastic but we need to switch our focus to Mumbai, who we don’t have a great record against,” she added.
“Firstly, I think the way Rana and Prasad played was outstanding. It was special. They gave us hope. But it would have been nice to cross the finishing line. As long as we knew our batters were in, we knew there was still hope and we kept believing and they kept believing. Niki, she’s a youngster, the way she played and Rana bringing her experience. I don’t know what else to say but they were outstanding. I know we didn’t win it, but the way they played was outstanding. I just feel we had done really well with the ball. The last few overs we gave a few runs. We gave 15-20 runs extra. With the bat, we needed partnerships from the top order, including me, but that’s where it didn’t click. The next game is going to be very important. We have a bit of time off so it’s important to regroup for that game,” said losing skipper Jemimah Rodrigues.
Brief scores: Gujarat Giants 174/9 in 20 overs (Beth Mooney 58, Anushka Sharma 39, Tanuja Kanwar 21; Chinelle Henry 2/38, Shree Charani 4/31) beat Delhi Capitals 171/8 in 20 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 24, Niki Prasad 47, Sneh Rana 29; Rajeswari Gayakwad 3/20, Sophie Devine 4/37).
