Beyond the headlines: An unimpressive 50, DC get lucky, & Bryce proves her worth
Beyond the headlines; DC v/s UPW, Game 6 of the WPL
DC beat the UP Warriorz by 7 wickets, in a game that was much closer than it needed to be - but also a game that UP probably could’ve won without dropping every catch possible and letting balls run through to the boundary for no reason during the death overs?
But, what happened beyond the headlines?
Navgire took advantage of the opportunities DC provided
Written by Krithika Venkatesan, who works as a talent scout with RCB. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
During the 2023 WPL, Kiran Navgire averaged 19.37 at a strike rate of 114.81. So far during the 2025 WPL, she is averaging 33 at a strike rate of 188.57. It’s a statistic that is misleading for reasons that aren’t obvious.
Today, the Maharashtra batter began by dispatching Marizanne Kapp for back-to-back boundaries. The first delivery was on the pads, while the next one was nearly in the slot, but a well-timed shot from Navgire sent it racing to the boundary. After adding four more 4s and three 6s, she reached her fifty in 24 balls - a UP Warriorz record.
Navgire thrives on pace. Whenever bowlers deliver quicker and away from the stumps, she goes after it aggressively. Even if she miscues, her raw power often sends the ball sailing over the boundary. It was no different today - the bowlers either strayed onto her pads or offered her width, playing right into her strengths.
But, Navgire also has her weaknesses. Apart from short balls and slower deliveries, Navgire also struggles with deliveries that pitch just outside off and seam back into her. Notably, this was how Deandra Dottin dismissed her in the last match as well, after mixing her deliveries well.
When Arundhati Reddy was introduced after the powerplay, she cleverly took the pace off the ball, keeping Navgire quiet for four deliveries. However, she eventually capitalised on a low full toss, sending it to the boundary - a shot that also brought up her half-century.
The other time Navgire struggled was when facing the short ball. She miscued the pull shot three times, connected cleanly once for a 6, and eventually got out attempting the same shot. Notably, the delivery from Kapp which she dispatched for 6 was a quick one.
Right before the WPL, Navgire hammered 64 off just 25 balls against Railways in the Quarter-Final of the Senior One Day Trophy. In that innings, she smashed eight sixes and a four - all against spinners who kept bowling into her hitting zone, right in the arc below her bat. Notably, every time she went for a big shot, the bowlers were trying to bowl quicker.
Navgire’s impressive 2025 numbers don’t fully reflect that her approach has remained the same throughout the WPL. She will dispatch whatever is in her zone, and rarely leaves an easy ball alone. Today she executed her shots better, opting to play straight, and took advantage of DC’s bowling.
DC’s powerplay bowling was wildly inaccurate
Written by Aksay Ram M. You can follow him on Twitter, Instagram & YouTube.
In the last game, DC’s bowlers allowed RCB to score 57 runs in the powerplay, at an economy of 9.5. This time they allowed UPW to score 66 runs at 11 an over.
Tonight, DC bowled too many short balls and allowed UPW batters to get a brisk start. During the powerplay, DCW bowled 50% of their balls on the shorter side, conceding 27 runs at a strike rate of 150 and a solitary wicket.
Bowling short on the low bounce Vadodara pitch is not advisable because the ball sits on the pitch and is easier for the batters to hit towards either side. Unsurprisingly, UPW scored 56% of their runs on the onside, and 44% on the off side.
Even when DC tried bowling fuller lengths, they were punished. They conceded 30 runs off 10 full balls, at a ridiculous strike rate of 300.
They’ve been bowling bad lengths throughout the Vadodara leg of the 2025 WPL. However, tonight, they also messed up their lines. They bowled 70% of the balls were on the leg-stumps, making it easier for the batters to hit.
During the powerplay tonight, they bowled just 8 balls in a good-length area around off and middle. UPW only scored 3 runs at a strike rate of 37.5 off those balls. 5 of the 8 balls were dots. DC only bowled 6 dots through the rest of the powerplay.
Instead of making things complex, DC needed to focus on bowling good lengths, and to trust the low-bounce Vadodara pitch to do the talking.
Data from Cricviz.
UPW might have an Aussie issue
Written by Ritwika Dhar. You can follow her on Twitter.
In the first two WPL seasons, 50% (1175 of 2350 runs) of UPW’s runs were scored by the Australian core of Tahlia McGrath, Grace Harris and Alyssa Healy.
Healy is missing this season, but Harris and McGrath are also struggling. In the first season, McGrath scored 302 runs with an average of 50.33 and SR of 158.11 in 8 innings. But in 2024, her form tanked. She only scored 27 runs in 4 innings with a below-par SR of 79.41. Unsurprisingly, she was dropped after 4 games.
Grace Harris also had a dream first season, scoring 230 runs in 5 innings at a staggering SR of 165.46 and average of 57.50. Her form dipped a bit in 2024, but she still had a decent season, scoring 188 runs in 8 innings, but the SR dipped to 136.23.
So far this year, both McGrath and Harris have been quiet with the bat. In the 1st match, both were bamboozled by Priya Mishra’s googlies. Today McGrath (1 off 6) and Harris (12 off 14) were the only batters besides Ecclestone who scored at a rate of less than a run a ball. Harris couldn’t judge the change of pace slower one from Arundhati Reddy whereas McGrath premeditated a quick fuller delivery off Jonassen, and got stumped.
Together, they’ve scored 17(24) in two games this season. Harris’ bowling, including the wickets of Beth Mooney on Sunday and Meg Lanning today, make her serviceable as an all-rounder, but UPW have a middle order issue.
But, UPW’s issues stem from their lack of replacements.
Last season, UPW replaced the out of form McGrath with Chamari Athapaththu, who also only scored 28 runs in 4 matches. This season Athapaththu is off for national duty from February 26. Their other foreign options are Chinelle Henry - who played today - and Alana King, who are both bowling-first all-rounders.
UPW - who are the only team with two Indian openers - don’t have another top-order batter to replace McGrath. They need their Aussies to start firing again, or they could be in for another long, painful season.
Data from ESPNcricinfo.
Sarah Bryce proves her worth behind the stumps
Written by Uma Mahesh. You can follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Sarah Bryce has already proven herself with the bat this season, but today showcased her worth behind the stumps. Two stumpings, quick moves and good glove work saved DC a world of hurt during the middle overs of UPW’s innings.
Bryce was known as one of the best wicketkeepers in the world before her WPL purchase, despite playing for an associate nation. She owns the record for most stumpings in a single WT20I innings (4) and, from 2018 to 2024, was part of 62 dismissals in 58 matches including 29 catches and 33 stumpings.
Bryce’s outstanding dismissal-per-innings (D/I) ratio of 1.068, outperforms notable WPL peers such as Alyssa Healy (0.795), Beth Mooney (0.444), and Richa Ghosh (0.95). Although Healy leads with 128 overall dismissals, Bryce's reliability as a wicketkeeper stands out.
The victim of her first stumping today was an on-rushing (and out-of-form) Tahlia McGrath in the 9th over. Her second stumping, of Deepti Sharma in the very next over, was a testament to her incredible skill.
Facing Mani’s delivery, Deepti stepped out for a big shot but missed the ball as it turned away. Bryce had to collect it outside off and on the rise due to extra bounce, but she managed to whip the bails off in a flash. Deepti reacted quickly with a dive, but the replays confirmed the bails were off before her bat could reach the crease.
Overs 8 to 12 went for less than 6 runs each as the new batters tried to adjust to the game. Bryce’s sharp wicketkeeping - including her quick stumpings - and disciplined bowling helped DC get back into the game after UPW’s quick start in the powerplay.
Data from ESPNcricinfo.
DC’s death over bowling choices were…odd
Written by Richa N. You can follow her on BlueSky, and on the PCCI Podcast.
In the 16th over of UPW’s innings, Minnu Mani was handed the ball.
The plan was simple, bowl fuller and at the stumps. On a low bounce pitch, this prevents hitters from getting under the ball and hitting you out of the ground. The straight boundaries are 70m and the square boundaries are 49m and 59m respectively. They had 2 fielders on the long boundary on the leg side to catch the attempted boundaries off fuller balls.
Mani had Chinelle Henry on strike. She’d faced 3 dot balls off 3 full deliveries at the stumps in the first 5 balls. On the last ball however Mani bowled a touch shorter and slightly down leg which allowed Henry to get under it and tonk it over deep midwicket for 6.
In response, DC captain Meg Lanning reverted to experience. But, she miscalculated by not trusting her less experienced bowlers against Henry.
Henry’s record is not quite as good as her reputation. She can chew up a lot of the strike through dot balls, and has a lower strike rate then the best in the WPL. In 2023, her best year, Henry operated at a strike rate of 121.9 and a dot ball percentage of 40%. If you bowl to a plan and don’t let her line you up, you can keep her quiet.
Pandey started off with the same bowling plan that was set for Mani, to bowl fuller into the body. Things went awry when Pandey lost her grip on the third ball, and gifted Henry a juicy full toss that she smacked out of the ground for 6. This led to two more loose balls that were duly dispatched, and a final delivery that misfielded over the boundary for another 6. In all, Pandey conceded 23 runs in the 17th over.
In the 2024 WPL, Arundathi Reddy had fared well against lower order hitters like Harmanpreet Kaur, keeping her well below her normal strike rate at 120. In this game, she limited Kiran Navgire to a scoring rate of 116 and picked up Grace Harris’s wicket. In the 19th over, replacing Pandey, Reddy only conceded 9 runs (including a misfield that went for 4).
Similarly, in DC’s last match, Mani was the only bowler who kept Harmanpreet Kaur quiet. The MI captain was only able to score 2 off 6 balls against Mani, in the midst of a murderous innings of 42 off 22 at a strike rate of 190.
DC got lucky that UPW managed to make far more mistakes with the ball, but a better side would’ve punished them for their sloppy bowling and poor strategy today.
 | A guest post by
|