It was all going to plan for Delhi Capitals. Chasing 139 for a win, they were placed comfortably at 124 for 4 in 18 overs, needing 15 off 12. Meg Lanning had led the chase with her third consecutive fifty. Two experienced internationals in Annabel Sutherland and Jess Jonassen were at the crease. A top-three spot was in Capitals’ sights.

Enter Deepti Sharma.

In what was a collapse of epic proportions, Capitals went from 124 for 4 to 137 all out in 12 balls to hand UP Warriorz a scarcely believable come-from-behind one-run win.

The wrecker-in-chief was Deepti, who picked up a split hat-trick. She removed Lanning on the final ball of the 14th over and then snapped up Sutherland and Arundhati Reddy off the first two balls of the 19th before also accounting for Shikha Pandey in the three-wicket over. That left Capitals with ten to win in the final over.

Poonam Khemnar dropped Radha Yadav off the first ball of the 20th bowled by Grace Harris, also tipping the ball over the ropes in the process. A high full toss was then heaved to deep square-leg by Radha. With two needed off four, the odds were still with Capitals but three wickets in the next three balls changed everything.

Warriorz’s middle order goes bust… again

All four matches in the Delhi leg have been won by teams batting first, so Warriorz had no hesitation going down that route after winning the toss. But things didn’t go to plan. Kiran Navgire got a streaky four away first ball of Sadhu’s first over, but was cleaned up the very next ball going for an adventurous hoick only to see her stumps rattled.

Deepti, batting at No. 3 for the first time in the WPL, got into her stride from the get-go. She added a 46-run stand with Alyssa Healy, injecting momentum into the innings as Warriorz reached 44 for 1 at the end of the powerplay. But Alice Capsey sent Healy packing, also initiating an all-too-familiar Warriorz middle-order collapse.

Tahlia McGrath, back in the side replacing Chamari Athapaththu, was cleaned up by a Reddy pearler. Harris struck a six in her 12-ball 14 but fell to a top-edge off Radha. Sadhu, Radha and Jonassen then struck as Warriorz slipped from 95 for 3 to 116 for 7 in the space of 19 balls.

They managed to reach 138 thanks to Deepti’s late striking.

Deepti the hero with the bat

Deepti came into the game on the back of an unbeaten 36-ball 53 against Mumbai Indians and she built on her excellent form. She got going with a delicate dab past the keeper for four before butchering Sadhu over mid-on. Deepti did slow down a touch after that, but three fours in the space of six balls against Sutherland and Jonassen got her strike rate somewhat back on track. She reached her second successive half-century in the final over off 45 balls.

Lanning seals the deal… almost

Lanning, after her match-winning fifty against Gujarat Giants earlier in the tournament, had talked about how she is now “just enjoying playing cricket” after announcing her international retirement. On Friday, she carried on in the same vein smashing 60 off 46 balls, her innings laced with 12 fours. The Warriorz bowlers were also quite liberal as they often went short and Lanning was in no mood to let them go unpunished.

She got going with a powerful hack through deep-backward square leg, an area she peppered consistently. Lanning then struck Saima Thakor for three back-to-back fours while going after each of Gouher Sultana, Deepti and Rajeshwari Gayakwad. Three successive fours off Sultana then helped Lanning race to her fifty off 38 balls as Capitals moved to 91 for 2 after 13, requiring 48 to win off 42 balls.

Deepti the hero with the ball

It needed a special effort to stop the rampaging Capitals from delivering another win, and Deepti put her hand up. She went for 12 off her first two overs with Lanning taking her for two fours. But it was her third over which brought Warriorz back. Having conceded just three runs off her first five balls, she got one to spear in on Lanning’s middle stump. Lanning went for the sweep, missed, and was trapped right in front.

The match was still in Capitals’ grasp when Deepti came on to bowl the 19th over. She got Sutherland first ball with a length ball that clattered into middle stump. The very next ball, she went slower and Reddy couldn’t resist going across the line. She failed to get a clean connection and Harris completed a simple catch.

With that wicket, Deepti claimed just the second hat-trick in WPL history. Pandey came in and whacked Deepti over her head but the bowler kept her cool and took her down next ball with a sharp caught-and-bowled, conceding only five off the penultimate over. Having done her bit with the bat earlier, Deepti more than did her bit with the ball finishing with excellent figures of 4 for 19.