Shafali, Lee stars as Delhi Capitals bag first points

In the bottom of the table clash, Delhi Capitals overcame the UP Warriorz off the last ball to register their first win of WPL 2026. DC made a comfortable chase difficult for themselves with 68 required off 10 balls and 10 wickets in hand. DC's victory was largely due to Shafali Verma's all-around performance (36 off 32 and 2 for 16) and Lizelle Lee's 67. Marizanne Kapp hit a boundary on the second ball when she needed six from six to make it two from four. The jitters from DC's previous game began to build after two dots and one. However, Laura Wolvaardt secured victory by hitting a boundary off the final ball. After three games, UPW has not won since the defeat. Jemimah Rodrigues batted for the Warriors. The umpire denied the appeal after Kapp thudded Kiran Navgire's pads on the second ball. On review, the umpire's call on wickets saved Navgire, but the batter made a hasty exit by lofting the following delivery straight to mid-off. Meg Lanning and Phoebe Litchfield, both from Australia, pounded home three boundaries in the second over. Litchfield found two more boundaries in the following over, continuing to play the aggressor. In the PowerPlay, there were three more goals, and UPW won the game with 47 for 1. Sneh Rana turned one past the dancing Litchfield immediately after the first six to stump her. UPW began rebuilding once more and appeared to be laying the groundwork for a significant score once more. From the seventh to the 12th over, boundaries were scored thanks to Lanning and Harleen Deol unleashing paddles, sweeps, pulls, and long levers together. UPW surpassed 100 with three boundaries in the 11th and 12th overs, while Lanning scored 50 of 32 deliveries. In just 15 overs, Deol hit two fours off Shree Charani and an extra-cover drive off Verma to reach 130/2. However, when Lanning was bowled by Nandni Sharma and holed out to deep midwicket, the batting situation took a dramatic turn. Deol, the set batter, was unexpectedly removed from the game after only 11 runs were scored in the 16th and 17th overs. Deol was baffled by it as she left on 47 disappointed. The previous night, the move might have worked for the Gujarat Giants, but it didn't for UPW because the new batter, Chloe Tryon, gave up a three-ball one to Charani. Kapp had Sophie Ecclestone plumb in front as UPW continued to capsize at the death. Shweta Sehrawat and No. 9 batter Deepti Sharma were picked off by Verma as UPW reached 154 for 8 after only scoring 24 runs in their final five overs and losing five wickets. DC responded by getting off to a strong start with openers Lee and Verma. They didn't let the first bowlers settle as they hit early boundaries and started getting runs consistently. The first stage ended at 46/0 after Lee powered Tryon for 16 runs in the PowerPlay's final over. Even Sophie Ecclestone was unable to get into the rhythm as Verma added two boundaries in an 18-run victory after Lee slog-swept her for six. At the halfway point of their innings, DC were scoring close to nine runs per over, and Lee reached fifty after a six off Tryon. Verma was bowled by Asha Sobhana in the 12th over, bringing an end to the 94-run partnership. Lee was picked up by Deepti in the 15th over as the South African tried to hit her way out after DC scored only 21 runs from overs 11 to 14. In the 16th over, Ecclestone, an experienced player, was run out for 13. In a 12-run 17th over, Rodrigues used sweeps and reverse sweeps to proactively combat Deepti. In the subsequent two overs, UPW reduced the score to nine and took the wicket of Rodrigues, putting an end to the 34-run partnership. DC made a straightforward chase difficult for themselves, but they will be pleased to have started the 2026 season strong.