WPL PIX: DC beat UPW to qualify directly for final

IMAGES from the Women's Premier League match played in Mumbai on Tuesday.

• Scorecard

Alice Capsey produced a fabulous all-round display, snaring three wickets and smashing a 31-ball 34 as Delhi Capitals thrashed UP Warriorz by five wickets to directly qualify for the final of the Women's Premier League at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday.

Chasing a 139-run target, built around Tahila McGrath's 32-ball unbeaten 58, DC romped home scoring 142 for five in 17.5 overs to finish at the top of the table, toppling Mumbai Indians on the basis of better net run rate.

With Delhi grabbing a direct spot in the final, Mumbai Indians and UP Warriorz will now face off in the eliminator for the other final spot.

"Just wanted the team to win and help the unit. I don't think we were at our best. We were sloppy on the field. It was a reasonable wicket. We got off to a flier and helped us when it started to turn," DC skipper Meg Lanning said.

"It seemed it came nicely with the new ball. They bowled a fair bit of spin towards the back end. We got some depth in batting. We have one big game to go. Hopefully, we will nail that."

MI had defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by four wickets earlier in the day, leaving DC with the task of not only winning against UPW but also maintaining a better run-rate to directly book their final spot.

Meg Lanning and Co did just that as they restricted UPW to a modest 138 for six after winning the toss and opting to bowl.

Chasing, the opening pair of Lanning and Shafali Verma then went on a boundary hitting spree as they knocked off 56 runs off 29 balls.

If Lanning set the ball rolling with three fours and a six in a 20-run first over off Shabnim Ismail, Shafali had four hits to the fence in her 16-ball 21-run cameo.

Once Shafali was holed out to Soppadhandi Yashasri off Sophie Ecclestone's bowling, Ismail returned to trap Jemimah Rodrigues and then removed Lanning, who was caught by Simran Shaikh in the deep, as suddenly DC slumped to 70 for three.

UPW tried to tighten the screws but Capsey produced three boundaries in four balls off Ecclestone to keep DC in the hunt.

Parshavi Chopra was then deposited over the fence before Capsey slog swept Deepti Sharma past the mid-wicket area for another boundary as DC  brought up their 100 in 12 overs.

Marizanne Kapp (34 not out off 31) smashed another maximum as DC reached 130 for three in 16 overs.

Ecclestone managed to send back Capsey after two balls, while a mix-up cost Jess Jonassen's wicket but Kapp kept her cool to hit the winning runs.

Earlier, off-spinner Alice Capsey snared three wickets but Tahila McGrath smashed a superb unbeaten fifty to take UP Warriorz to a competitive 138 for six against Delhi Capitals in their final league match.

McGrath blasted eight boundaries and two sixes on way to a scintillating 32-ball unbeaten 58 to lift UPW to a good total after skipper Alyssa Healy (36 off 34) provided the platform.

Capsey scalped three quick wickets conceding just seven runs in her first three overs but Mcgrath changed the complexion of the match with a 19-run blitz in the final over.

For DC, Radha Yadav (2/28) and Jess Jonassen (1/24) were the other wicket takers.

With Mumbai Indians regaining the top spot with a four-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore earlier in the day, Delhi will need to complete the run-chase in 19.4 overs or earlier to top the points table and get a direct entry into the final.

If Delhi manage to directly book their final spot, it will lead to an elimination playoff between Mumbai Indians and UP Warriorz to qualify for the other spot of the summit clash.

However, if UP Warriorz emerges victories then they will have to take on DC again in the eliminator to face Mumbai in the final.   

Back in the playing XI, Shweta Sehrawat (19 off 12) provided UPW a flying start as she smashed four boundaries during her 12-ball 19 before being dismissed by Radha Yadav in fifth over.

Healy then took over even as new batter Simran Shaikh struggled to find the gaps and was also dropped in the seventh over with Meg Lanning putting down a dolly.

Healy cracked a six off Radha in the eighth over, before using her feet against Shikha Pandey for a boundary but she was stumped in the 10th over when she danced down to Capsey.

Simran's struggle was over when she was caught by Jemmiah Rodrigues in the 12th over.

With time running out, McGrath smashed three boundaries off Arundhati Reddy in the 14th over, which yielded 14 runs.

Jess Jonassen then had Kiran Navgire stumped, while Capsey repeated the treatment to Deepti Sharma, deceiving her with a flighted delivery as Tania Bhatia took off the bails again.

Bhatia was kept busy as next it was the turn of Sophie Ecclestone, who too was stumped after she tried to use her feet as UPW slipped to 105 for six in 18 overs.

McGrath hit some lusty blows in the last two overs, clobbering Jonassen for a four and six in the last two balls of the 19th over before repeating the treatment to Capsey, who conceded two fours and a six as UPW finished things on a high.