DC vs UPW: Lanning's old team in must-win situation against her new team
A victory for UP Warriorz will seal defending champions Mumbai Indians' Eliminator spot
S Sudarshanan
31-Jan-2026 • 7 hrs ago
Big picture - A must-win for DC
Delhi Capitals (DC) head into the final league game of WPL 2026 with a simple yet unusual scenario - win the game and qualify for the Eliminator. They haven't been in such a situation ever in the WPL, having directly qualified for the final in each of the first three editions by topping the tables..
In front of them are UP Warriorz (UPW), a team which has only a mathematical chance, but not a realistic one of making it. UPW are led by Meg Lanning, who captained DC to a runners-up finish in each of the first three editions. UPW are also the team DC won their first game against in this season, having begun with two defeats.
DC would not have been in this situation had they not bottled up their two chases against Gujarat Giants (GG) this season. On the two occasions, they failed to score nine and seven off the last over, both against Sophie Devine.
UPW have had a misfiring batting unit, which has seen them shuffle their middle order repeatedly. Their latest outing also saw Deepti Sharma promoted to open with Lanning, and the pair added 74 together. UPW don't just have a chance to spoil DC's party, and start one for Mumbai Indians who will qualify if DC lose, but also sow seeds for the next season by signing off with a win.
Team news & likely XIs
Following the success of two legspinners in the GG vs MI game, is there a case for DC to give Alana King a go?
Delhi Capitals: 1 Shafali Verma, 2 Lizelle Lee (wk), 3 Laura Wolvaardt, 4 Jemimah Rodrigues (capt), 5 Marizanne Kapp, 6 Niki Prasad, 7 Sneh Rana, 8 Chinelle Henry/Alana King, 9 Minnu Mani, 10 N Shree Charani, 11 Nandani Sharma
With their batting lacking firepower in the middle order, UPW could give Deandra Dottin a go in their final game of the season.
UP Warriorz: 1 Meg Lanning (capt), 2 Deepti Sharma, 3 Amy Jones (wk), 4 Harleen Deol, 5 Shweta Sehrawat, 6 Chloe Tryon/Deandra Dottin. 7 Simran Shaikh, 8 Sophie Ecclestone, 9 Asha Sobhana, 10 Shikha Pandey, 11 Kranti Gaud
Big question
In the spotlight: Lanning vs Kapp and Wolvaardt vs Ecclestone
Lanning's duel with Marizanne Kapp could set the tone early on Sunday. No bowler has dismissed her more often in T20s than Kapp's seven. Overall, Lanning has scored only 82 runs in 99 balls against Kapp in 19 T20 innings. Lanning scored a half-century when she played DC earlier this season.
The other battle to keep an eye on is Laura Wolvaardt facing Sophie Ecclestone's left-arm spin. On spin-friendly conditions in Vadodara this WPL, Ecclestone has managed to bowl at an economy rate of 6.00, a whole 2.83 runs fewer than in the first leg, for her two wickets in two games. She has the edge over Wolvaardt in women's T20s, dismissing her six times in 22 innings. Wolvaardt's strike rate against her is 115.50 for her 149 runs, and only Devine (seven) has dismissed her more times in T20s.
Key stats
- DC have the lowest run rate in the middle overs (7-16) in WPL 2026, of 7.67. UPW are significantly quicker with a run rate of 8.21 in that phase. The contrast at the death (17-20) is stark - DC are the quickest (11) while UPW are the slowest (8.28)
- Nandani Sharma's 14 wickets this WPL are the most by a DC bowler in a season, and she is one wicket shy of equalling Saika Ishaque's record of 15 wickets (2023) for the most by an Indian bowler in one edition
Pitch & conditions
The Kotambi Stadium has been assisting spinners a lot more than the DY Patil Stadium. While the spinners picked up 49 wickets in the first leg, they had an economy rate of 9.40, a figure that has sharply dropped to 7.90 in the Vadodara leg. Their strike rate has also improved to 18 as opposed to 23.8 in Navi Mumbai. However, both DC and UPW have seamers who have been leading their wickets tally - Nandani with 14 for DC, Shikha Pandey with six for UPW (joint-most for them with Ecclestone).
S Sudarshanan is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @Sudarshanan7