Giants stand between Capitals and fourth straight WPL final
Gujarat Giants beat Delhi Capitals in both their previous encounters in the group stage
Shashank Kishore
02-Feb-2026 • 4 hrs ago
Giants are playing in the eliminator for the second straight season • BCCI
Big Picture - Can DC make it four in four?
Delhi Capitals have been perennial league-phase dominators, topping the table three times in as many seasons only to fall short when it has mattered most. This time, they've taken a different route - the longer and tougher path, beginning with Tuesday's eliminator. And they'll hope it culminates in a fourth straight final.
Gujarat Giants, meanwhile, are in the eliminator for the second straight season, but the mood around them feels markedly different. Continuity has bred clarity, and under Ashleigh Gardner's leadership they have evolved into a side comfortable in its skin - even if some of the calls they've made have gone against conventional wisdom. Like their decision to bat first in a crunch game against Mumbai Indians - only the first time in 41 WPL games that a side had batted first.
A big part of their late surge into the playoffs has been Sophie Devine - setting the tempo at the top with the bat and using her bowling variations, including well-disguised cutters on sluggish surfaces, to make the Giants difficult to plan against.
Young players have also stepped forward with conviction: Anushka Sharma, widely seen as a future India prospect, has settled into the No. 3 role, while Kashvee Gautam has been backed to deliver with the new ball. Bharti Fulmali's late-order flourish early in the season has even helped chart a T20I comeback after seven years.
Such faith in younger players on this scale was missing in Giants' first two seasons, but it reflects a philosophical shift that head coach Michael Klinger has been vocal about.
On Tuesday, they'll face a tough test against a DC unit that can be difficult to pin down. Their firing opening combination of Lizelle Lee and Shafali Verma allows them to dictate powerplay tempo, but it is in the middle overs that have proven challenging. This is where Jemimah Rodrigues' ability to manipulate spin, coupled with Laura Wolvaardt's anchor role will prove crucial.
DC have largely relied on their spinners - Sneh Rana and N Shree Charani in particular - to operate through the middle to squeeze right-hand heavy line-ups. Nandani Sharma's impressive debut season, and her confidence to bowl in the death - even if the execution has been off at times - gives them an extra option you felt was missing when they couldn't get back Shikha Pandey at the auction. This has also helped take pressure off their powerplay weapon, Marizanne Kapp.
Giants love to set up totals, Capitals have been successful in chases. It boils down to who will hold their nerve now in a crunch game, when challenged to go out of their comfort zone.
Team news & likely XIs
Giants have fielded the same XI for two games in a row, DC for three. Expect them both to remain unchanged, barring late injuries.
Gujarat Giants: 1 Beth Mooney (wk), 2 Sophie Devine, 3 Anushka Sharma, 4 Ash Gardner (capt), 5 Georgia Wareham, 6 Bharti Fulmali, 7 Kanika Ahuja, 8 Kashvee Gautam, 9 Tanuja Kanwer, 10 Rajeshwari Gayakwad, 11 Renuka Singh
Delhi Capitals: 1 Lizelle Lee (wk), 2 Shafali Verma, 3 Laura Wolvaardt, 4 Jemimah Rodrigues, 5 Marizanne Kapp, 6 Chinelle Henry, 7 Niki Prasad, 8 Sneh Rana, 9 Minnu Mani, 10 Nandani Sharma, 11 Shree Charani
In the spotlight - Georgia Wareham and Shree Charani
In 2024, Georgia Wareham was a key part of Royal Challengers Bengaluru's bowling arsenal during their march to the WPL title. Two seasons later, she has a chance to win the competition again - this time with the Giants, the side with whom she endured a frustrating first stint in 2023. Two days ago, Wareham once again underlined her value by hitting an unbeaten 44 off 26 balls, followed by figures of 2 for 26, in a crunch game against MI. Her potential match-up against Rodrigues, an excellent player of spin, could be intriguing in the middle overs.
N Shree Charani has endured a difficult time in the field, to the point that she has occasionally had to be hidden on the outfield. Her catching, in particular, has been below par. That, however, has not dented her confidence with the ball, which she has continued to deliver across different phases of the innings. When they last faced Giants a week ago, Charani's 4 for 26 reined them in to 176, at a time when 200 looked a distinct possibility. In the eliminator, the match-up against Giants' right-hand heavy middle-order could form the crux of the contest.
Pitch and conditions
Surfaces have played noticeably better lately than they did earlier in the Vadodara leg. The BCCI's head curator was brought in to oversee pitch preparation, with a clear directive to produce tracks that encourage run-scoring. On the weather front, daytime temperatures have touched 30 degrees celsius, and the distinct late-evening nip in the air has all but disappeared. As a result, dew has been far less of a factor, reducing the toss advantage.
Stats and trivia
- Giants have a 5-1 win-loss record batting first this season. This is by far the best in a WPL edition
- Devine is two short of surpassing Amelia Kerr and Hayley Matthews' tally of 18 wickets (both in 2025) - the most wickets taken in a single WPL season
- Devine has a favourable match-up against Lizelle Lee, having dismissed her 11 times in 23 innings, with Lee having scored 162 runs off 121 balls (where ball-by-ball data is available)
- Each of Giants' five wins this season have come batting first; all of DC's four wins have come in run chases
- DC's Nandani and Shree Charani's 14 wickets apiece in this WPL are the joint-second most wickets picked up by an Indian in a season, behind Saika Ishaque's tally of 15 wickets in the inaugural season.
Quotes
"We've built a culture. Of camaraderie and trust, and that comes only with continuity. The fact that we've been able to build from a core group last year, the spin-offs are in front of us this year. Hopefully we've got two perfect games left" - Gujarat Giants head coach Michael Klinger
"We've certainly done it a little bit the hard way. It's been a rollercoaster and we haven't always played our best cricket. But after three years where we've absolutely dominated the league phase and finished top and that was obviously no guarantee of winning the trophy. Look, I'm just happy to qualify for the playoffs now." - Delhi Capitals head coach Jonathan Batty
Shashank Kishore is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo