Delhi Capitals, led by skipper Jemimah Rodrigues, were up against the home side, Gujarat Giants, led by skipper Ashleigh Gardner, in a reverse fixture at the Kotambi Stadium, Vadodara, on 27th January 2026, in an almost do-or-die clash.
The game eventually went down to the wire yet again, as was very much the case, the last time these two sides were up against each other (at the DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai) in the ongoing 4th edition of the Tata WPL (on 11th January 2026). It was the former White Ferns skipper Sophie Devine who defended 7 runs in the final over, by giving away just 2 runs and picking up 2 wickets in that over in that game in Navi Mumbai. Sophie Devine delivered a deja vu moment for the home fans, defending 9 runs in the final over, to give Gujarat Giants those crucial two points. Gujarat climbed up to the 2nd spot with that win, taking them to 8 points, with 4 wins from seven games so far in their campaign.
Delhi Capitals skipper Jemimah Rodrigues yet again won the toss and opted to bowl first. The Capitals retained the same side, while the Giants made a couple of changes, with Georgia Wareham and Tanuja Kanwer making their way back into the side, replacing a sick Danielle Wyatt-Hodge and Happy Kumari. Sophie Devine got off to a quick start, which didn’t last long as she was cleaned up by Marizanne Kapp in the 3rd over of the innings, providing the first breakthrough for the visitors.
The promising 22-year-old young batter Anushka Sharma (39 off 25 balls) joined wicket-keeper batter Beth Mooney at the crease, and they stitched a crucial 54-run partnership for the 2nd wicket. It was followed by another substantial partnership of 23 runs for the 3rd wicket alongside the skipper, Ashleigh Gardner, and the 4th wicket partnership of 32 runs alongside Georgia Wareham, which took them closer to the 130-run mark. A collapse followed as the Giants lost their next four wickets for just 23 runs.
However, a cameo from Tanuja Kanwer provided the finishing touches as the Gujarat Giants finished with a total of 174/9 in their quota of 20 overs on a tricky wicket. Beth Mooney (58 off 46 balls) registered her maiden half-century in the ongoing 4th edition of the tournament, anchoring the innings for her side. Her knock included 7 boundaries.
Shree Charani picked up her maiden four-wicket haul, returning with the career-best figures for her side in the WPL. Chenille Henry (4-0-38-2), Nandani Sharma (4-0-26-1), Marizanne Kapp (4-0-34-1), and Minnu Mani (3-0-23-1) were impressive with the ball for the Delhi Capitals.
Chasing a target of 175, the Delhi Capitals openers Shafali Verma (14 off 10 balls) and Lizelle Lee (11 off 20 balls) got them off to a flying start with a 26-run opening partnership. The experienced left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad got the big scalp of Shafali Verma in the 3rd over of the run chase to provide the first breakthrough for her side. The Capitals innings never really got the momentum in the innings as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals.
However, the likes of Niki Prasad alongside Sneh Rana infused hope and took the Jemimah Rodrigues-led side to the brink of a heist. However, it wasn’t to be as the Capitals were restricted to 171/8 in their quota of 20 overs, falling 3 runs short of the target, to conclude another thriller between these two sides. Sophie Devine was awarded the Player of the Match for her final over heroics with the ball for the Gujarat Giants.
Top Performers: Match 17: Gujarat Giants vs Delhi Capitals
Tanuja Kanwer
Left-arm spinner Tanuja Kanwer returned to the starting 11 for the Gujarat Giants in the game against the Delhi Capitals and yet again proved her credentials with the bat, providing the much-needed impetus towards the backend of the innings after being inserted to bat first by the opposition skipper Jemimah Rodrigues. She played a blinder of an innings, 21 (11 balls), smashing 14 out of the 15 runs in the final over of the innings. Her knock included 3 boundaries and a maximum, scoring at a strike rate of 190.91. Besides her impact with the bat, she also completed her full quota of 4 overs with the ball for the first time this season, returning with impressive match figures of 4-0-26-0 in her spell.
Sophie Devine
The White Ferns veteran all-rounder returned to open the innings alongside Beth Mooney after being pushed down to number five in their previous game against the UP Warriorz. Sophie Devine (13 off 10 balls) provided a quick start to the innings for the Giants, smashing three boundaries before being cleaned up by Marizanne Kapp in the 3rd over of the innings. However, it was her impact with the ball that tilted the game in favour of the Gujarat Giants while defending a target of 175. She returned with impressive match figures of 4-0-37-4 in her spell, accounting for the scalps of the wicket-keeper batter Lizelle Lee (11 off 20 balls), skipper Jemimah Rodrigues (16 off 16 balls), Niki Prasad and Sneh Rana in her spell.
She was smacked for 23 runs in the 3rd over of her spell, bringing the Delhi Capitals back into the contest. The home skipper, Ashleigh Gardner, yet again trusted the experienced all-rounder to defend 9 runs in the final over. She delivered a deja vu moment for her side and the Gujarat Giants fans as she gave away just 5 runs in the final over, while also accounting for the decisive scalps of Sneh Rana (29 off 15 balls) and Niki Prasad (47 off 24 balls) to guide the Giants over the line by 3 runs. She was awarded the Player of the Match. She also reclaimed the purple cap with 15 wickets at an average of 14.26 and an economy of 8.28 in seven innings, including a four-wicket haul in seven matches with the ball for her side so far in the ongoing edition of the tournament.
Rajeshwari Gayakwad
The experienced Indian left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad is finally leaving her mark in the WPL, representing the Gujarat Giants this season after quiet outings with her previous franchise, UP Warriorz, in the previous seasons. After a Player of the Match performance for the Giants in the previous game against her former franchise, she delivered another impactful spell in a crucial game against Delhi Capitals. Defending a target of 175, the home skipper Ashleigh Gardner introduced the left-arm spinner early into the contest, and she delivered by getting the big scalp of Shafali Verma (14 off 10 balls) in the 3rd over of the run chase. She also went on to dismiss a well-set Laura Wolvaardt (24 off 23 balls) at a crucial juncture in the 13th over of the run chase. She capped off her impressive spell of 4-0-20-3 by dismissing an ominous Chinelle Henry in the 15th over of the run chase to give her side a firm grip on the contest.
N Sree Charani
The young 21-year-old left-arm spinner Shree Charani delivered her career-best spell with the ball in the WPL after skipper Jemimah Rodrigues won the toss and opted to bowl first. Her scalps of Anushka Sharma (39 off 25 balls), Georgia Wareham (11 off 7 balls), Kanika Ahuja (4 off 5 balls) and Kashvee Gautam (2 off 3 balls) dented Gujarat Giants’ scoring rate.
Niki Prasad
The Indian under-19 World Cup winning skipper from the 2025 batch of the ICC Women’s Under-19 World Cup showed glimpses of her potential under pressure for Delhi Capitals in the previous season in 2025, which was also her debut season in the WPL. In the 17th game of the league stages of the ongoing 4th edition of the tournament against the home side Gujarat Giants, she displayed remarkable composure under immense pressure and almost pulled off a heist while chasing the total of 175 on a tricky wicket in Vadodara.
She came in when her side was in trouble at 85/5 in the 13th over of the run chase, joining Chinelle Henry at the crease. By the time she assessed the conditions and settled in, the Capitals were reduced to 100/6 in the 15th over of the run chase with the departure of Chinelle Henry. With the required rate already above 12 runs an over, Niki Prasad (47 off 24 balls) led the fightback alongside Sneh Rana, stitching a counterattacking 70-run partnership for the 7th wicket, taking her side on the brink of a special and memorable win. As a result, the Delhi Capitals lost the game by 3 runs, leaving them dependent on other teams for their progression to the knockout stages of the tournament. Niki Prasad’s knock included 9 boundaries, scoring at a strike rate of 195.83.
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