WPL 2025: All-round UP Warriorz beat Delhi Capitals for first win – Talking Points

The UP Warriorz registered their first win of the 2025 Women's Premier League as they got the better of Delhi Capitals by 33 runs at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday.

Here are the talking points from the match:

First team to defend a total

The UP Warriorz became the first team to successfully defend a total in the 2025 Women's Premier League. All the seven matches prior to this were won by the teams batting second.

Hence when Meg Lanning won the toss and the Capitals opted to field, it seemed like a routine decision.

However, nothing went their way apart from the toss in the evening for the two-time finalists.

The Warriorz, being put into bat, posted a competitive 177/9 in the first innings. They then bowled out the Capitals for 144 to pocket a crucial two points from the contest.

Joint fastest half-century

The 29-year-old all-rounder Chinelle Henry was the star of the match for the UP Warriorz.

Roped in as the replacement player for an injured Alyssa Healy, Henry recorded the joint fastest half-century in the Women's Premier League to bail her team out of trouble.

The Warriorz, at one stage, were struggling at 89/6 in the 14th over before Henry turned the tide.

The West Indian raced to a half-century off just 18 deliveries to equal Sophia Dunkley's record from the inaugural season two years back.

Henry (62) smashed eight sixes and two boundaries in her 23-ball stay. She took a special liking to Arundathi Reddy, smashing the pacer for five consecutive sixes across two different overs.

Even though she fell prey to Jess Jonassen with the final ball of the innings, she had already propelled the Warriorz to a match winning total.

Henry later finished with figures of 1-42 in her four overs, scalping the wicket of the experienced Marizanne Kapp.

Kranti Goud announces her arrival

Kranti Goud has been one of the most successful pacers in the Indian domestic circuit over last season. Though she made her WPL debut earlier this season, she looked listless in her first two matches.

The 23-year-old, however, changed not only her fortunes but also UP Warriorz's as she picked up a vital four-wicket haul against the Delhi Capitals.

The youngster's maiden WPL wicket as the Capitals skipper Meg Lanning. She beat the former Australian captain with an incoming delivery and had her stumps rattled.

Goud did not stop there.

A few overs later she had a struggling Shafali Verma caught at deep point.

Goud then returned to remove the dangerous Jess Jonassen and a well set Jemimah Rodrigues in the 15th over to effectively close the door on the Delhi Capitals.

Rodrigues (56) was the top scorer for the Capitals in the run chase with eight boundaries and a six in 35 deliveries.

Hat-trick for Grace Harris

Grace Harris became only the third player to take a hat-trick in the Women's Premier League when she struck thrice with the final three balls of the match.

Harris, entrusted with the responsibility of bowling the final over of the match, wrapped up the Delhi Capitals innings in just three balls.

The 19-year-old Niki Prasad, first, pulled a short ball straight into the hands of the fielder at deep midwicket to leave the Capitals reeling at 144/8.

Reddy, the new batter at the crease, then sliced a ball to Shweta Sehrawat at cover point, who gave her a proper send-off.

With a hat-trick on cards and number 11 batter Minnu Mani on strike, Harris pulled the field in.

The Australian all rounder, however, did not require any outside help as Minnu hit the ball straight back to her.

The ball, at first, almost popped out but Harris did well to juggle and gobble it up in the second attempt to complete the first hat-trick of the season.

Issy Wong for Mumbai Indians and Deepti Sharma for the UP Warriorz have previously taken hat-tricks in the Women's Premier League.