The final group stage fixture of the Women’s Premier League 2024 saw the Delhi Capitals lock horns with the Gujarat Giants at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. With the Gujarat Giants already knocked out of the playoff stages, they would have liked to end the tournament on a high. And a place in the final of the WPL on the line for the Delhi capitals there was something to play for, both the sides. However losing a spot in the final seemed rather improbable for the Delhi Capitals as their net run rate was much better than the second-placed Mumbai Indians, the equation read that if chasing the Delhi Capitals had to lose by a margin of approximately 110 runs and if batting first the Gujarat Giants had to chase down the target within 5 hours. No matter how improbable it seemed, there was still a mathematical possibility, and cricket being an unpredictable game, anything was possible on matchday. Mumbai Indians to face Royal Challengers Bangalore on 15th March
The Gujarat Giants skipper Beth Mooney won the toss and elected to bat first. Losing wickets at regular intervals did not help the cause. A good bowling performance from the Delhi Capitals saw them restrict the Gujarat Giants to a subpar score of 126 runs in their stipulated quota of 20 overs. Marizanne Kapp, Shikha Pandey, and Minnu Mani accounted for two scalps each. Bharti Fulmali was the top scorer for Gujarat Giants as she scored a 36 ball 42.
Chasing the target at hand and a place in the finals of the coveted tournament on the line. The Delhi Capitals got off to a decent start but lost their skipper Meg Lanning on a score of 31 runs, they lost Alice Capsey in the same over without troubling the scorers.
A partnership between Jemimah Rodriguez and Shafali Verma ensured that the Delhi Capitals did not lose much momentum and achieved the net run rate target assuring the Delhi Capitals a spot in the final for 2 years in succession.
With the outcome of the Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Giants match, a face-off between the Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers Bangalore is confirmed in the Eliminator of the WPL 2024
