Lucy Hamilton's Dream WPL Debut: A Special 36* Under Pressure for DC

The Australian began her WPL career strongly, making a notable lower-order contribution in her debut for DC during their match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Saturday.

After slipping to 10 for 4, Delhi Capitals faced early pressure but displayed resilience to recover and reach a competitive total of 166. Opener Shafali Verma spearheaded the comeback with a steady 62 off 41 balls. Meanwhile, Hamilton, batting at number nine, added vital late runs with a brisk 36 off 19 balls, including three fours and three sixes, helping the Capitals set a defendable target.

Reflecting on her debut appearance and contributing under pressure, Hamilton said, "It was really special to get that opportunity and be out there for my first game. Obviously, making your debut is always a big moment, and from where we were early on, the message was just to keep fighting and take it as deep as we possibly could. I was just trying to stay calm, back my strengths and do whatever I could for the team in that situation."

Talking about her collaboration with Shafali Verma during her recovery, the left-arm fast bowler added, "With Shafali, it was mainly about clear communication and rotating the strike. She was striking the ball incredibly well, so the plan was to get her on strike as much as possible and just support her at the other end. From being 10 for 4 to putting up a total like that showed a lot of character and fight from the group."

Hamilton shared her experience playing in the WPL and adapting to Indian conditions said, "It's been a really exciting experience so far. Conditions here are definitely a bit different compared to Australia, so adapting has been important. Training has helped a lot in understanding how precise you need to be with your lines and lengths, especially with slightly smaller grounds and good batting surfaces. It's about making things as challenging as you can for the batters."

Delhi Capitals couldn't defend the total on the night as Royal Challengers Bengaluru successfully chased the total, but Hamilton believes there were positives to take away.

"You can take something away from every game. We were put under pressure early, but the way everyone responded and fought back to post a competitive total was really encouraging. It was a good contest, and although we were on the wrong end of it today, there are a lot of positives to take forward."

Delhi Capitals are set to play against Mumbai Indians in their upcoming Women's Premier League 2026 match scheduled for Tuesday, at the BCA Stadium, Kotambi, Vadodara.

- IANS