Gujarat Giants clinched a nail-biting victory over table-toppers Delhi Capitals, winning by five wickets with three balls to spare in Match No. 17 in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025. This triumph marked their third consecutive win, strengthening their playoff chances and shaking up the tournament standings. Led by a mature knock by Harleen Deol, the Giants cruised to a comfortable total.
The Capitals posted a sublime total of 177/5 at the loss of 5 wickets, courtesy of a majestic innings of 92 by skipper Meg Lanning. Giving a gist of the entire match, assistant coach of the Delhi Capitals Lisa Keightley shared, “I wouldn’t say anything went wrong. I think Gujarat played really well and bowled well throughout the middle and probably restricted us well. I thought we were probably 10-15 runs short—if we were over 190, I think that would have been above par on this ground.
“They bowled well through the middle with their spin and kept us to a competitive score, and then they batted extremely well. And I think with the dew coming in, you couldn’t miss the margin for execution, it was quite small, and if you didn’t, it looked quite easy to get away. So, we were in it for a long time, and they batted really well and held their nerve there at the end.”
Applauding Meg Lanning, the coach said that she couldn’t answer for Meg as she obviously had her reasons for retiring—and happily retired, she thought. She mentioned that it just showed what a quality player Meg is and that it is exciting to still see her playing the game and enjoying it. She added that it is always nice to see Meg score runs and gave her credit for playing well. She admitted that she couldn’t really comment on what Meg was like when she was playing international cricket, as she wasn’t around at that time. However, she noted that now Meg loves coming to India and the WPL.
She described her as someone who goes with the flow, even in a busy environment where there’s always something happening, but she handles it all with a smile. She emphasized that Meg truly loves playing in this competition and, when she is there, she does whatever is needed to go out and perform at her best. From her perspective, Meg appeared to be very happy, someone who loves the game and actively helps her teammates with whatever they need while sharing her knowledge.
On DC’s team composition, Keightley said, “We just thought with their batters, seam early to them was quite effective in the first game. And then obviously, we went with four, because Titas had bowled very well in that game, and we thought she was really suited to this team. Then we ended up going with the two spinners, and that was debated throughout the day which way we would go. I think because of the two left-handers, we went with Minu as an off spinner to the left-handers.”
The Capitals have faced agony in the last two seasons by finishing as runners-up and falling short of the trophy by a whisker. Acknowledging the fact, she said, “Everyone in the room knows that over the last two years, we haven’t got over the line. But to tell you the truth, we’ve played pretty good cricket and consistent cricket over the last three years. We personally don’t talk about it too much. We all know it’s there—we just want to play really good and consistent cricket so that when that time comes, hopefully, we’re in the final.”
The Delhi Capitals have played all their league games and now will play either of the eliminator or final at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. However, the coach is not worried about her team not playing a league encounter game in the city of Mumbai for preparedness. She said that while they would love to play at the venue before a final, it was not the case. However, they had played there in year one, so they were familiar with the venue.
She acknowledged that playing there beforehand would have been ideal, but since that wasn’t possible, they would have to adapt as they had done before. Having moved around three times already, she emphasized the importance of quickly assessing the conditions, executing their skills, and sharing knowledge between the bowlers and batters, something the team had been doing well, expressing hope that this approach would continue.
Michael Klinger, Head Coach of the Gujarat Giants answered the questions of the press, and speaking at length about the Player of the Match Harleen Deol for her 49-ball unbeaten 70, Klinger said, “It was an extremely mature knock for us. Batting with a few of our players and building partnerships—first with Beth Mooney, then with Ashleigh Gardner, then with Deandra Dottin, and then with Kashvee Gautam at the end.
“Her effort today was fantastic, but to be fair, she’s been great the whole tournament. We’ve asked her to play a couple of different roles. She’s played a little bit through the middle, and in the last couple of games, she’s played at number three. She’s been really flexible and happy to do the team thing for us, and I couldn’t be prouder of how she’s going.”
On Harleen’s different batting positions, he said that she was in a really good mind space. He admitted that, if he was being honest, she was probably a little disappointed when she wasn’t batting in the top three at the start of the tournament and was instead placed at five or six. However, he credited her for embracing it 100%. He explained that this experience had given her the ability to play different roles.
If someone were an Indian coach or selector for the women’s team, they would now know that Harleen could take on a role at five or six in the middle order or play up the order. This versatility makes her a very attractive player to have in a T20 squad since she could adapt to multiple roles. He expressed his happiness for her, acknowledging that she had embraced both roles and performed well in both throughout the tournament.
On Harleen Deol’s impressive performance in the third season, where she has been coming after a long-injury lay off, the 44-year-old said, “It’s really hard for me to judge last season because she came into the tournament injured. She arrived with a sore knee and then, obviously, ruptured it while playing. So, I think she was a little hesitant from the start last year—not fully confident in her body and whether her knee would hold up. But this year, we asked her to play with real intent with the bat, whatever role she was playing, and she’s done that really well.
“Even early in her innings, whether it’s coming down the wicket or trying to get a boundary early on, it’s been helping her get away and get in front of the game. Hopefully, that’s something she can carry forward in her T20 cricket, whether in franchise leagues or for her country as well, because I think she’s going to be a long-term Indian player in all formats, and she’s now shown that in T20 cricket, she can be a force as well.”
The coach explained that from a strategic and tactical perspective, one of the biggest advantages this season was having eight extra quality overs from Kashvee Gautam and Priya Mishra. Neither of them played last year—Kashvee was injured, and Priya, despite being in the squad, wasn’t selected. He highlighted how Priya had improved in all areas, including her bowling and fielding, making those additional eight overs a significant boost for the team.
Reflecting on the past 12 months, he expressed pride in the players’ development. He noted that at the back end of the last WPL, during the winter (or summer in Australia), six of their players participated in the India A side against Australia A, and five went on to represent India, some for the first time.
He emphasized that this experience and exposure to high-level cricket had prepared them well for the current tournament. Facing world-class Indian and international players had given them the confidence to compete at the highest level. According to him, they were no longer intimidated by the names or reputations of their opponents; instead, they were simply focusing on playing the ball and reacting accordingly.
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