Follow UsIt has been quite a nerve-wracking start for Delhi Capitals, who have clinched two last-ball wins out of their three games thus far in Women’s Premier League 2025. The two wins have also placed them second on the points table, level on points with Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Integral to their success thus far has been a monstrous Shafali Verma, who has absolutely smacked the ball to all corners. Thus far, the Rohtak-born opener has smashed 69 runs in the competition at a strike rate of 197.14, head and shoulders above all other openers.
In the aftermath of their win against UP Warriorz, skipper Meg Lanning revealed that there’s only one-way Shafali plays, and that is giving the team quick starts.
“Shafali (Verma) just knows one way and that is to give a quick start and this plays a really important role in setting up the innings to get ahead of the run rate a little bit early. It takes a bit of pressure off through the middle and back end,” Lanning said in the post-match press conference.
Lanning was also pleased by the team’s efforts to get over the line in quite a thrilling fashion in two out of the three encounters thus far in the season, something that they didn’t do a lot over the last year.
“It was nice to bounce back as a team. We probably didn't put our best effort out the other night (against RCB) but we had the opportunity to put our best foot forward in this match and we did that. We still feel like there are areas where we can get better. It's been nice to win two close ones because it shows we're able to hold our composure to an extent and get over the line,” she said.
"It's nice to win two close ones," she added.
Lanning heaped praise on Annabel Sutherland for her match-winning contribution. The Australian all-rounder impressed with both bat and ball, registering figures of 2/26 in four overs before playing a crucial unbeaten knock of 41 off 35 balls to guide the team to victory.
“Annabel (Sutherland) was outstanding with the ball initially, as she got early breakthroughs when we were really under pressure. Later, she held her nerves while batting as well. She probably felt that she wasn't hitting them as well as she would have liked but to have that sort of stability at one end allowed Marizanne Kapp to come in and play with freedom. It was a crucial role and it was nice to see her do well,” Lanning said.
Delhi’s next contest will be a rematch against UP Warriorz but this time around in Bengaluru, on February 22 (Saturday).