The 4th edition of the Tata WPL served up another exciting thriller, where a match aggregate of 400+ was breached for the second time in just the first three days of this edition of the tournament.
The Gujarat Giants, under skipper Ashleigh Gardner, levelled up and utilised the firepower acquired in the mega auctions to full effect, particularly at the top of the order with the overseas trio of Sophie Devine, Beth Mooney and skipper Ashleigh Gardner, alongside the Indian contingent at the forefront. In a short turnaround for both sides, Delhi Capitals, led by Jemimah Rodrigues, were up against the Gujarat Giants on 11th January 2026 at the DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai.
Jemimah Rodrigues continued her great time at the toss, calling it correctly for the 2nd consecutive time and opting to bowl first. The former White Ferns skipper Sophie Devine unleashed her vintage power-hitting alongside Beth Mooney, stitching a massive opening stand of 94 runs, setting the platform for a massive total. However, after the initial onslaught, the Delhi Capitals, via Shree Charani, and the promising youngster from Chandigarh started to pull things back. Nandani Sharma’s final over heroics in her 2nd game of the debut WPL season wrestled the momentum back in the Capitals favour. The Gujarat Giants surpassed their previous best of 207/4 in their previous game against the UP Warriroz, before getting bundled out for 209 in their quota of 20 overs.
• 95 Runs with the bat
̐• 2 Wickets in 3 overs with the ballIt was Sophie Devine’s night tonight. ❤️#CricketTwitter #WPL2026 pic.twitter.com/ejw9uQ3Q8H
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) January 11, 2026
The Delhi Capitals openers, Shafali Verma and wicket-keeper batter Lizelle Lee, got off to a cautious start in the powerplay, scoring 47 runs, including the departure of Shafali Verma. Lizelle Lee took the centre stage, finding gaps in the field with a blend of power and precision, scoring her maiden WPL half-century. However, it eventually wasn’t enough for her side to secure their first win of the ongoing 4th edition of the tournament. Sophie Devine brought all her years of experience to the fore to defend 7 runs in the final over to give the Ashleigh Gardner-led Gujarat Giants their 2nd consecutive win of the season.
Top Performers: Match 4: Gujarat Giants Vs Delhi Capitals
Sophie Devine:
The White Ferns veteran and former skipper made a move from the Royal Challengers Bengaluru to the Gujarat Giants at a price of 2 CR at the mega auction on 27th November 2025. The move paid dividends and infused a much-needed firepower to the Giants top-order to partner alongside the wicket-keeper batter Beth Mooney. She had an impressive outing (38 off 20 balls) against the UP Warriorz. She backed that up with her lethal best 95 (42 balls) against the Delhi Capitals. She unleashed a brutal onslaught, taking down the off-spinner Sneh Rana for a WPL record of 32 runs in the final over of the powerplay, starting with a couple of boundaries, followed by a streak of four maximums to cap off the over on a high. Her breathtaking knock equalled her own record of 8 maximums in an innings in WPL, to go along with 7 boundaries. The youngster Nandani Sharma ended her stay at the crease in the 11th over, with the Giants already approaching the 130-run mark. The wait continued as Sophie Devine fell just 5 runs short of becoming the first WPL centurion, getting out in the 90s for the 2nd time in her WPL career. The Giants posted their record-highest WPL total of 209 before getting bundled out.
She backed up her blockbuster performance with the bat with an impressive spell (3-0-21-2) with the ball. The moment of the game arrived when she utilised all her years of hard-earned experience to deliver a remarkable final over, defending 7 runs; she gave away just a couple of runs and also picked up a couple of wickets, including the decisive scalp of Laura Wolvaardt (77 off 38 balls), to secure a memorable win for the Gujarat Giants. She was awarded the Player of the Match for her blockbuster show.
Rajeshwari Gayakwad:
The experienced veteran, 34-year-old Indian left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad, moved to the Gujarat Giants in the mega auctions after a couple of quiet seasons with the UP Warriorz. She had an impressive start to the tournament as she picked up a wicket in her brief one-over spell in the previous game, giving away just 7 runs. She has followed that up with another impressive spell (4-0-30-2) in a high-scoring run fest against the Delhi Capitals. She picked up massive wickets of Shafali Verma and Chinelle Henry to defuse the threat in the middle overs for her side. The Giants eventually emerged triumphant by 4 runs.
Nandani Sharma:
The promising pacer from Chandigarh had another impressive outing with the ball for the Jemimah Rodrigues-led side. She applied the brakes on the Sophie Devine onslaught by dismissing her in the 11th over of the innings, providing the much-needed 2nd breakthrough for her side, after the Capitals yet again won the toss and opted to bowl first at the DY Patil Stadium. Skipper Jemimah Rodrigues trusted the youngster just in her 2nd game of her debut season in the WPL to bowl the final over of the innings.
She backed her skipper’s decision to put faith in her as the Delhi Capitals’ young pace bowling sensation Nandani Sharma became the first uncapped and the 2nd Indian after Deepti Sharma to bag a Tata WPL hat-trick. She also joined the elite club featuring the likes of Issy Wong and Grace Harris, alongside Deepti Sharma, to become the 4th bowler in the 4th season to pick up a WPL hat-trick. She also registered her maiden 5-wicket haul (4-0-33-5) in the tournament. Four of her scalps, Kashvee Gautam, Kanika Ahuja, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, and Renuka Singh Thakur, came in the final over, with Kanika, Rajeshwari and Renuka completing a dream hat-trick for the youngster.
Despite the remarkable efforts from the South African skipper, Laura Wolvaardt, the Delhi Capitals suffered a heartbreaking 4-run defeat.
Lizelle Lee:
The former South African wicket-keeper batter Lizelle Lee is also marking her maiden stint in the WPL and was picked up by the Delhi Capitals in the mega auctions. She had a relatively quiet debut 10 (10 balls) against the Mumbai Indians. However, she bounced and displayed a wide range of shots, and her firepower opened the innings alongside Shafali Verma, in their bid for a record run chase of 210.
She not only went on to register her maiden half-century 86 (54 balls) in the WPL, but also delivered exactly the kind of impact the Capitals required at the top of the order, by scoring at a strike rate of 195.26 in a mountainous run chase. Her knock included 12 boundaries and 3 maximums, keeping her side in the hunt. Kashvee Gautam brought the Giants back into the contest by dismissing Lizelle Lee in the 15th over of the run chase. The Capitals were eventually restricted to 205/5 in their quota of overs, falling 4 runs short of the target.
Laura Wolvaardt:
The South African skipper, who led her side to their maiden appearance in the recently concluded 13th edition of the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup in India, eventually finished as the runner-up. Laura Wolvaardt was with the Gujarat Giants for the first three seasons before moving to the Delhi Capitals at a price of 1.10 CR in the mega auctions. Much like her performances in ICC tournaments, she came up with another clutch performance under immense pressure. She almost pulled off a record run chase of 210, registering her 4th WPL half-century 77 (38 balls), including 9 boundaries and 3 maximums, against her former franchise, before being dismissed by Sophie Devine in the final over of the run chase.
I am Yash Tailor, and I believe work should be driven by passion. Therefore, after completing my Engineering, I chose to work in the Cricket industry, my passion. My goal is to reach a stage where I truly enjoy what I do and give my best to every task with energy and purpose.