Six balls, half of them worldies, and the last richocheting off Beth Mooney’s thigh pad and crashing into the base of middle and leg stump with a fateful clatter. If Delhi Capitals wanted to ram home their WPL title credentials, there it was, in Marizanne Kapp’s first over of the final group game in this year’s competition, which Capitals won easily to seal their place in the final.

But they weren’t done there, and nor was Kapp. She and Jess Jonassen teamed up, not for the first time, taking two more wickets in quick succession as Gujarat Giants lurched to 16 for 3 inside five overs.

A brilliant half-century from Shafali Verma ensured victory was swift and emphatic, mowing down the target of 127 with 41 balls remaining as Capitals confirmed top spot on the table and direct entry to Sunday’s decider, where they will face either defending champions Mumbai Indians or Royal Challengers Bangalore. For Giants, their search for a place in the playoffs will go on into 2025.

Kapping a top campaign

Kapp’s second delivery landed just back of a length in the channel then cut away late, drawing interest from Mooney, who was soundly beaten. Kapp’s fifth, on a similar length but this time on leg stump, cut Mooney in half and had Capitals wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia launching herself to her right to gather. But the next ball was the one, on a length and on leg stump, Mooney tried to turn it away through fine leg only to see it bounce off her thigh and into the woodwork.

Jonassen entered the attack in the fourth over and struck with her third delivery, fired in on a length and coming back into D Hemalatha, who swung and missed as the ball pegged back the top of off stump. Kapp grabbed her second wicket when Laura Wolvaardt miscued to Shafali at mid-off and trudged back to the dugout, completing a Gaints top three sitting on the bench with single-figure scores. Between them, the Capitals duo have taken a combined 12 wickets in powerplays so far in this WPL. Kapp and Jonassen have 11 wickets each for the tournament, putting them in joint top-place with Sophie Ecclestone, whose campaign ended when UP Warriorz exited the tournament in the group stage.

Offspinner Minnu Mani, in the side for Titas Sadhu, took two wickets in the space of five balls to leave Giants reeling at 48 for 5 barely past the halfway point of their innings. She bowled Ashleigh Gardner with one that gripped and turned and smashed into the stumps then saw Phoebe Litchfield caught by Radha Yadav at mid-on in a decisive and immediate riposte after being smashed down the ground for six.

Giants rebuild, Pandey knocks ’em down

Bharti Fulmali and Kathryn Bryce combined for a 68-run partnership off 50 balls to stage something of a fightback, Fulmali striking seven boundaries on the way to her 36-ball 42 as she top-scored for her side. But Shikha Pandey arrived to bowl the penultimate over and grabbed two wickets in as many balls. She bowled Fulmali with a full delivery which crashed into off stump and had Tanjua Kanwar out playing onto a short, slower ball outside off stump.

Shabnam Shakil survived the hat-trick ball but was the first of two quick run outs, Meghna Singh following her, before Bryce struck Jonassen’s last delivery through the off side for four to remain unbeaten but with huge doubt over whether Giants had anywhere near enough.

No time to waste

Capitals gave the distinct impression they had somewhere to be – the final, to be precise – when Meg Lanning and Shafali raced to 31 without loss after three overs. Lanning started it with four fours in five balls off Bryce’s first over, the second of the pursuit. Shafali then hit three off Shabnam in the next before Lanning was run-out, sent back by her partner after pushing Kanwar’s first ball towards point where Wolvaardt gathered and threw to wicketkeeper Mooney as Lanning dived in vain, gone for 18 off 10.

Giants would have been pleased to remove Alice Capsey, taken at mid-off for a four-ball duck off Kanwar moments later to make it 31 for 2. But Shafali continued as she had begun, bettering her six off Meghna over long-on with a glorious 91m effort to begin Gardner’s first over and another down the ground to end it. Gardner came in for more Shafali punishment in her second over, a four to the right of long-on and a six heaved over the fence in the same region to take Capitals to 82 for 2 after 10 overs.

Jemimah Rodrigues lofted Mannat Kashyap over long-off for a six of her own before Shafali brought up her fifty with a four past extra cover and the runs kept flowing, Meghna conceding 20 runs off the 12th over as Capitals moved to within 10 of victory. Shafali’s defiant four down the ground off Kanwar brought them within one hit but her dismissal moments later trying to finish it but picking out Litchfield at mid-off instead meant that while she walked off with a wonderful 71 from just 37 balls, it was Rodrigues who hit the winning runs, a crisp four off Mannat through point.