Nandani Sharma's Hat-Trick Stuns Giants After Devine's 95 in WPL Thriller

Devine set the tone for the sensational clash with brilliant hitting, scoring her fifty off 25 balls, and Gardner provided some late flourish before Nandani Sharma served to add to the drama by bowling a magical 20th and last over, claiming four wickets, including a hat-trick off the last three balls of the innings, to pull things back for Delhi Capitals.

Nandani Sharma (5-33) claimed her maiden five-wicket haul while Shree Charani and Chinelle Henry bagged two wickets apiece to apply the brakes to the GG innings.

Asked to bat first by DC skipper Jemimah Rodrigues, Gujarat Giants were off to a blazing start with Sophie Devine and Beth Mooney hammering 94 runs for the first-wicket partnership in just eight overs. Mooney scored a 16-ball 19, but Devine was in divine form on Sunday and came up with one of her most memorable knocks.

Devine was in devastating form as she took all the bowlers to the cleaners, starting with a four off Chinelle Henry on the first ball of the second over, and ended the over with another four edged through the vacant slips. She struck back-to-back fours off Nandini Sharma in her first over and swung the young bowler over her head for her first six of the match.

Then came the most expensive over from Rana as the 36-year-old New Zealander hammered Sneh Rana for two fours and four sixes for 32 run over as she raced to fifty off 25 balls.

Devine welcomed Rana into the attack with a four off her pads on the first ball of the over, powering it through the mid-wicket. She was dropped off the second ball by Marizanne Kapp, and the ball rolled to the cover-point boundary. Devine then went on a six-hitting spree, dancing down to a slower one and launching it over long-on, clearing her foot to the fourth delivery to smoke it over cow corner as she reached 50.

On the fifth ball, Devine gets down on one knee and clubs the half-volley over deep mid-wicket, and followed that up by dispatching a full toss over the deep mid-wicket boundary.

The New Zealand all-rounder was at it again by blasting three sixes in an over off N Shree Charani in the 9th over. She fell five runs short of a well-deserved century, getting out for 95 off 42 balls, caught by Shree Charani off Nandani Sharma. Devine's highest score in WPL is 99 not out, which she scored in the first season.

Delhi Capitals pulled things back a bit as Georgia Wareham (3), Anushka Sharma (13), and Bharti Fulmali (3) failed to contribute much. However, GG skipper Ashleigh Gardner smashed a 26-ball 49, hitting four boundaries and three sixes to give the innings some late flourish.

However, there was more drama stored in the match as Delhi Capitals' Nandani Sharma etched her name into the history books by becoming the fourth bowler to claim a hat-trick in the WPL. She claimed the wickets of Kanika Ahuja (4), Rajeshwari Gayakwad (0), and Renuka Singh (0) to claim a hat-trick in a four-wicket last over and join Issy Wong, Deepti Sharma, and Grace Harris as the bowlers to take three-in-three in WPL.

She had earlier claimed the crucial wicket of Devine and Kashvee Gautam (14) as she claimed her maiden five-wicket haul, claiming 5-33 in her four-over spell that pulled things back for Delhi Capitals. The 24-year-old medium pacer from Chandigarh became the first uncapped bowler to claim a half-trick in WPL history.

Brief scores:

Gujarat Giants 209 all out in 20 overs (Sophie Devine 95, Ashleigh Gardner 49; Nandani Sharma 5-33, Shree Charani 2-42, Chinelle Henry 2-43) against Delhi Capitals

- IANS