Navi Mumbai, Jan 14 Skipper Meg Lanning praised her bowlers for dragging the contest down to the final delivery after Delhi Capitals survived a last-ball thriller to beat UP Warriorz by seven wickets in Navi Mumbai.
Lizelle Lee’s (67) commanding strokeplay, backed by Shafali Verma’s (36) all-round impact, laid the foundation for Delhi Capitals’ first win under captain Jemimah Rodrigues, as they survived another last-over scare. Lanning acknowledged Delhi Capitals’ smart use of slower balls while lauding her team’s fight until the very end.
"I thought it was an excellent effort from our bowlers to pull it back and take the game right down to the final ball. It definitely became harder to bat first, especially once the pace was taken off the ball. That was something we learned from how the Delhi Capitals bowled, and I thought they executed that plan extremely well. We always felt we were in the game if we could bowl well, and the team deserves a lot of credit for fighting it out until the very end," said UP Warriorz captain Meg Lanning.
Lanning had lost the toss and led her team best with 54 runs while Harleen Deol scored 47 runs off 36 balls. The UP captain was pleased to contribute runs at the top but admitted she would have liked to bat longer, expressing hope of building on the innings in the matches to come.
"It was nice personally to get a few runs and contribute. I would’ve liked to keep going a bit longer, but it always feels good to put something on the board for the team. Hopefully, there are a few more of those to come."
UP Warriorz’ head coach Abhishek Nayar made a mistake by retiring Deol after the 17th over of the game. That decision ultimately backfired spectacularly, as UP leapt into a massive collapse after that point and did not have strong enough momentum to generate enough runs to be competitive. Lanning explained the tactical thinking behind Deol’s retirement, stating the decision was aimed at maximising the death overs and, while it did not work on the night, remained one she stood by in the team’s best interests.
"On Deol’s retirement, there was definitely a method behind that decision. With the death overs coming up, we felt we needed to maximise that phase. Deol batted extremely well, but it was getting tougher out there, and we felt she had got a little stuck towards the end - something I experienced as well. These decisions are always about what’s best for the team. I stand by it - it didn’t work today, but sometimes it does, and sometimes it doesn’t."
She clarified that Dottin’s absence was a purely tactical call, made to suit specific match-ups, and felt Chloe Tryon fulfilled her role effectively in her first WPL appearance.
"Deandra Dottin's absence was purely a tactical call. We felt Chloe Tryon was a good match-up against one of Delhi’s batters, and I thought she did her role really well in her first game of the WPL. That was the balance we felt suited this game best."
Lanning stressed the importance of moving on quickly, highlighting positives from the performance and expressing excitement about the upcoming challenge against a star-studded Mumbai Indians side.
"There’s not much time to dwell on this with another game coming up quickly, and that’s probably a good thing. There are plenty of positives to take from tonight, along with areas we know we need to improve. We’ll take confidence from how we finished the game and look forward to tomorrow against the Mumbai Indians, who have some world-class players. We’re really excited for that challenge.”
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