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Navi Mumbai: It’s still early days in 2026 but this had all the feels from the early part of the decade. When cricket matches, at the peak of the Covid pandemic, were played to eerie silence behind closed doors. And when run-scoring was business as usual for Meg Lanning.
Even a quintessential Lanning half-century, however, wasn’t enough for UP Warriorz (UPW) to find their first victory, as her former team Delhi Capitals got up and running in this Women’s Premier League (WPL) season.
Chasing a lot fewer than what UPW threatened at one stage in their innings, the three-time finalists crossed the 155-run target off the final ball with seven wickets to spare.
Shafali Verma played an integral role in making both of that happen. She clipped the wings of a high-flying UPW with her quirky off-spin featuring 14 dot balls and two wickets for just 16 runs, and returned to stitch a 94-run opening stand with a 32-ball 36.
The India opener was happy to play second fiddle to Lizelle Lee, who was the pacesetter for DC again in her second straight half-century. Like against Gujarat Giants, the South African was lethal in the Powerplay, and nullified UPW’s spin-heavy attack with her strong on-side play.
By the time she was dismissed for a 44-ball 67, her team had the finish line in sight. And unlike against GG, DC crossed it this time, although huffing and puffing towards the end.
That line looked far away when their opposition was primed for a 180-plus total at 112/2 after 12 overs, with Lanning (54, 38b) and Harleen Deol going at a brisk pace. Instead UPW crawled to just 42 runs in the next eight overs while losing six wickets.
One of them was a visibly unhappy Harleen (47, 36b) walking back after being gestured to retire out by coach Abhishek Nayar after the 17th over. Harleen, who used the sweep and her feet against spinners productively, found a nice tempo to her innings before the boundaries dried up.
The move to replace a set batter for fresh power though backfired. UPW did not manage a single boundary from there, and hit just one after Lanning was dismissed by Nandani Sharma in the 16th over to end a fine 85-run partnership with Harleen from just 56 balls.
That partnership set the tone after UPW’s opening woes continued and Phoebe Litchfield scored a busy 20-ball 27. Lanning began with a boundary in a sign of things to come. Like Harleen, she was brilliant in using the sweep and the depth of the crease against the spinners.
The retired Aussie raised her bat for a 32-ball fifty in the 12th over, before things went downhill for her new franchise.
