Top News

Abhishek Nayar, the coach of UP Warriorz (UPW), expressed that identifying the exact reasons for the team's disappointing performance in the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2026 season is challenging. He acknowledged that the absence of Phoebe Litchfield significantly impacted the team's dynamics, particularly following their defeat to Delhi Capitals on Sunday, which led to their exit from playoff contention.

In their final league match, Delhi Capitals achieved a convincing five-wicket victory over UP Warriorz. This win not only propelled the Jemimah Rodrigues-led team into the eliminators but also resulted in the elimination of the two-time champions, Mumbai Indians, who finished fourth in the standings.

After the match, Nayar remarked on the difficulty of pinpointing a single cause for the team's struggles, emphasizing that Litchfield's absence disrupted their batting order. Litchfield, who suffered a quad injury, was UPW's second-highest run-scorer with 243 runs in six matches. Nayar noted that the top order's inconsistency contributed to a season that did not meet expectations. He stated, "It's hard to identify what went wrong. Losing Phoebe affected our setup, and we struggled to fill her role. In T20 cricket, a strong top order is crucial for success, and unfortunately, this season did not unfold as we had hoped."

Delhi Capitals concluded their league stage in third place, accumulating six points from eight matches, with four wins and four losses. Alongside Delhi, Gujarat Giants and Royal Challengers Bengaluru have also secured their spots in the playoffs for the ongoing WPL 2026 season.

UP Warriorz batted first but could only manage a total of 122 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in 20 overs. It was a disappointing batting performance, with no player scoring more than 30 runs. Deepti Sharma contributed 24 runs off 19 balls, while Simran Shaikh and Shikha Pandey added 22 and 23 not out, respectively. For Delhi Capitals, Marizanne Kapp took three wickets for 30 runs, supported by Chinelle Henry and Shree Charani, who each claimed two wickets.

In pursuit of 123 runs, Delhi Capitals lost wicketkeeper-batter Lizelle Lee early for 10 runs. Opener Shafali Verma scored 29 runs, but it was Laura Wolvaardt's 47 runs off 36 balls and captain Jemimah Rodrigues' 26 runs off 16 balls that guided Delhi to victory in 18.4 overs.