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WPL WRAP: Capitals in the pound seats as pool stage nears its end

rugby02 March 2025 15:50| © MWP
By:Ross Roche
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Sophie Ecclestone © Sportzpics

The Delhi Capitals are firmly in the pound seats and were the first team to qualify for the Women’s Premier League playoffs, when they thumped defending champs Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Saturday night.

The Capitals sit top of the log on 10 points, having won five and lost two of their seven games, and if they win their final pool match against Gujarat Giants this coming Friday, they could secure first place.

Finishing top is a massive advantage as you progress straight to the final, while the second and third ranked teams on the log battle it out in the eliminator.

Regardless of what happens over the rest of the pool phase the Capitals have secured themselves in the playoffs for the third straight season, however after finishing as runners-up in the first two editions, they will be desperate to go all the way and lift the trophy this time round.

Here we look at where the teams stand and some of the best moments of the past week:

WHERE THEY STAND

Despite being four points ahead of the Mumbai Indians and six points ahead of the other three teams, the Capitals can’t rest on their laurels as anything can still happen.

If they lose their final pool game, they could be passed by Mumbai, or end up in a situation where they finish on level points with two other teams, with UP Warriorz and Gujarat also able to reach 10 points if they win their final three pool games.

In that situation the teams will be split by net run rate, with the best finishing top, so they will be desperate to win their last pool game against Gujarat, which would put them on 12 points, meaning only Mumbai could match them.

WPL season two winners RCB are in the worst position as they sit on four points, level with Warriorz and Gujarat, but have played a game more, meaning at most they can finish on eight points, and then hope other results go their way to clinch a spot in the playoffs.

TEAM OF THE WEEK

The Capitals are undoubtedly the team of the week as they picked up three thumping wins to power to the top of the log and are now by far the form team in the WPL.

They started by blitzing Gujarat by six wickets with 29 balls remaining on Tuesday, and followed that up with back-to-back nine-wicket wins, over Mumbai on Friday with 33 balls to spare and RCB on Saturday by 27 balls.

The manner of the wins will have clearly sent a warning out to the other teams in the competition, as were absolutely emphatic, with the Capitals not bossed in a single aspect of play in all three matches.

The match of the week however has to go to the Warriorz clash against RCB on Monday, where a last-ball run out sent the game to the only Super Over of this year’s tournament so far, and ended with the Warriorz defending nine runs for an amazing win.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

It was a week dominated by batters and allrounders as a number of sparkling performances stood out.

The highest score of the week went to RCB’s Ellyse Perry, who crashed an unbeaten 90 off 56 balls against the Warriorz, while she also hit 60* off 47 balls against the Capitals, both in losing causes for her struggling team.

English spinner Sophie Ecclestone showed she isn’t just a bowler, when she hammered 33 off 19 balls down the back straight for the Warriorz to get them within inches of beating RCB, only to be run out off the last ball.

She then dusted herself off and conceded just four in the Super Over to get her team the win.

The Capitals Shafali Verma was in imperious form with the bat over the week, striking an unbeaten 80 off 43 balls against RCB, 43 off 28 against Mumbai and 44 off 27 against Gujarat to now sit third on the run scoring charts.

Capitals allrounder Jess Jonassen contributed massively in all three of her sides wins over the week, scoring 61* off 32 balls and taking 1-24 with the ball against Gujarat, picked up 3-18 against Mumbai and scored 61* off 38 against RCB in a brilliant all-round showing.

Arguably the best one-person effort in the week came from Mumbai’s Nat Sciver-Brunt as she picked up 3-18 with the ball and hammered an unbeaten 75 off 44 balls with the bat to lead her team to an eight- wicket win over the Warriorz.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The WPL enters its penultimate week, with six pool games remaining, before the eliminator and final are battled out the following week.

This week sees just four pool matches played, on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and by the end of it the playoffs will likely have been decided.

Monday’s match between Gujarat and the Warriorz is vitally important for both, as they are both level on four points and a win will put them ahead of the bottom two sides, while the team that loses will be in danger of missing out on the playoffs.

Thursday’s match between Mumbai and the Warriorz and Friday’s between the Capitals and Gujarat are great opportunities for the top two ranked teams to solidify their place at the top of the table.

By the time Saturday’s match between the Warriorz and RCB rolls around, both could either be out of the running, or need the win to stay in the playoff hunt, which would make it a must win game for both.

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