Devine's 95 trumps Lee, Wolvaardt fifties in see-saw thriller

Gujarat Giants (GG) put on a commanding 209 and would have thought they were well ahead when Delhi Capitals' (DC) equation read 48 off 18. But Laura Wolvaardt turned things around - almost - for DC with a 19-run over to make it 29 off 12 and then seven from six. But GG turned the tables again when Sophie Devine, who had smashed a belligerent 95 off 42, removed the two set batters in the last over and conceded just two runs to snatch a four-run victory to help GG top the table.

GG's second win in a row became DC's second loss on the bounce and placed them at the bottom even though their batters buried the ghosts of being bundled for 145, under 24 hours before this game. The run-fest that swung wildly throughout at the DY Patil Stadium saw a total tally of 414 - the second-highest in WPL - and was the second day in a row that GG posted a 200-plus total.

Their total could have been a lot more had DC not pulled things back through Nandani Sharma's hat-trick after Devine's demolition of the bowlers. DC, however, came agonisingly close, within seven runs of sealing the highest WPL chase. But Devine took the pace off the ball and the steam out of DC's chase.

Devine came out all guns blazing and muscled the ball to all sides of the park as the DC bowlers failed to keep it outside her hitting arc. After a thick edge off her bat fell short of the keeper in the first over, Devine got going with a couple of fours in the next, off Chinelle Henry, and took off properly in the fourth by smashing Nandani for a 16-run over. The real damage came in the sixth over with the introduction of spin, when Devine smoked Sneh Rana for 32 in an over, which became the most expensive in WPL history.

After starting the over with two consecutive fours - the second nearly taken by a one-handed Marizanne Kapp at cover point - Devine bludgeoned Rana for four sixes, all on the leg side as the ball was aimed for the stumps again and again. By the time the over ended, Rana had lost her length so horribly that she bowled a full toss and Devine lapped it up for her fifth six, soon after her 25-ball fifty.

N Shree Charani and Henry managed to pull things back briefly by conceding just 15 off the next 14 balls and also sent back Beth Mooney, but there was no stopping Devine. She hammered another three sixes in four balls even as Charani took the pace off the ball and Devine raced into the 90s, looking set to become the first centurion of the tournament.

But Devine's wait for a century continued; she had also scored 99 for Royal Challengers Bengaluru a couple of seasons ago. Nandani, who made her WPL debut on Saturday, sent down a back-of-the-hand variation which Devine top-edged behind the wicket and Charani, running back from short fine leg, hung on to a catch that nearly touched the sky before coming down. Charani got her second wicket when Rodrigues flung to her right at cover in the next over to send back Georgia Wareham and the promising Anushka Sharma soon holed out for 13.

Gardner then took charge after getting a life on 22, even as DC exposed GG's inexperienced lower order, and peppered the boundary regularly. She went after both pace and spin alike before finding long-on to finish on a quick 49 off 26 before DC conceded just eight runs in the last two overs. GG suffered a collapse of 4 for 8 in the end with Nandani striking thrice in a row in the last over to take the fourth hat-trick and the first by an uncapped player in the WPL

Renuka Singh put down Lizelle Lee's tough return catch on the second ball of the chase, and the DC opener showed how costly the drop was. She crashed the next ball through the covers and finished the over with a no-look six straight down the ground. She continued to pepper the boundary even as Shafali Verma struggled for rhythm. Though DC's powerplay score read 47 for 1 compared to GG's 80 for 0, Lee ensured they weren't too far behind.

If Devine's innings was about brute force, Lee combined her well-timed drives with the odd aerial shot to keep the run rate close to nine an over. She went 4, 4 and 6 against Wareham for her 33-ball fifty as Wolvaardt played second-fiddle with GG still needing 120 from the last 10. The equation became a lot stiffer when GG's spinners conceded just 23 in the three overs after the halfway mark before Lee tore into Wareham again.

Wolvaardt was on 28 off 20 when Lee eventually found Devine at long-on for 86, which left DC to get 79 of 34. DC promoted the big-hitting Henry ahead of Jemimah Rodrigues and Kapp, but she also holed out after just one six. Rodrigues eventually walked out at No. 5 and crashed her first ball wide of long-on for a 17-run 16th over.

GG were still well ahead with the equation reading 60 off 24. Wolvaardt then used her long limbs to attack the spinners, especially going after Gardner in the 18th over when they needed 48 from 18. She often went straight down the ground when she had the length and otherwise found the gap square or through the covers to find the boundary regularly. After three fours and a six off Gardner, she dispatched Kashvee Gautam, who started the 19th over with two no-balls, for a six over midwicket which swung the game further for DC.

When Rodrigues ended the penultimate over by lofting Gautam over the covers, DC would have thought they had it in the bag with just seven to get from six. But Devine, who had earlier leaked 19 in two wicketless overs, first had Rodrigues glove one behind off a slower ball, kept Kapp to just one run off two balls, and then had Wolvaardt caught at deep midwicket with five to get off two. Rana walked out for the last ball and could't even connect, and GG scraped through