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Devine denies Delhi Capitals once again in final over
It felt like deja vu for Delhi Capitals. On January 11, Sophie Devine defended six in the final over to help Gujarat Giants secure their second win. Sixteen days later, she was once again tasked with defending a small total – eight runs – in the final over in DC’s chase of 175, after conceding 23 in her previous. Devine delivered once again, removing Niki Prasad and Sneh Rana, to give GG a three-run win. It took them to second place on the points table and a big step towards the knockouts.
Before that dramatic finish, DC had looked dangerous, thanks to late cameos from Prasad and Rana. From 100 for 6, the duo put on a 70 off just 31 balls to almost pull off a miracle.
Anushka Sharma walked in at 1 for 19 after Devine fell to Marizanne Kapp in the third over and, in a brief but decisive stay, wrested momentum from DC. Nervy at first, she soon settled, trusting her bottom hand and playing the ball rather than the bowler. A backfoot punch past mid-off off Nandani Sharma brought her first boundary, followed by a wristy clip through midwicket that underlined her control.
Kapp, with the best powerplay economy in this WPL at under five, bore the brunt in the fifth over as Anushka opened her shoulders for three fours, driving and whipping through square leg with minimal fuss. She struck eight fours in all and looked set for a big score, but after being dropped by Chinelle Henry at mid-off off Shree Charani, she attempted a slog sweep the next ball and was caught by Minnu Mani at deep midwicket for 39, leaving GG 73 for 2 in the ninth over.
Mooney held the innings with a composed knock. She was 16 off 18 balls when Anushka departed and had managed just one boundary until then. At the halfway stage, GG were 80 for 2. Jemimah Rodrigues’ decision to bowl out Kapp in the 11th over, however, worked in Mooney’s favour as she smashed three fours off her. Having found her rhythm, Mooney hit two more boundaries to backward point to bring up her first fifty of this WPL, off 40 balls. Mooney’s stay was cut short in the 17th over by Nandani’s slower ball.
The innings then unravelled, with GG losing wickets in a cluster between the 15th and 18th overs, including Georgia Wareham, Bharti Fulmali, Kanika Ahuja, and Kashvee Gautam, as Charani struck twice in an over.
Just as DC seemed to pull the game back, Tanuja Kanwar – who had missed the previous game – lifted GG to a competitive 174 with an 11-ball 21. She capped it 15 runs off Henry in the final over, smoking a six over the bowler’s head after hitting two fours. Charani finished as DC’s best bowler, returning figures of 4 for 31.
DC made a brisk start to the chase, reaching 41 for 1 at the end of five overs. But Devine removed Lizelle Lee off the final ball of the powerplay with a slower delivery. From the seventh over onwards, Kanwar and Ash Gardner bowled tight lines to Laura Wolvaardt and Rodrigues, conceding just 15 runs across three overs.
Although Georgia Wareham was taken for 12 in the tenth, it prompted the captain to bring Devine back – and she struck immediately, rattling Rodrigues’ stumps as the batter attempted a scoop. Two balls later, Gardner removed Kapp, and by the end of 12 overs, DC’s required run rate had climbed to 11.37. Wolvaardt soon fell to Gayakwad, leaving DC 85 for 5, and it became 100 for 6 with 75 needed from 33 balls.
But Devine struck in the final over, removing Rana and Prasad. Despite a tense two-run attempt and frantic running between the wickets, Devine’s slower deliveries and smart field placements saw both batters caught in the deep, allowing GG to hold on for a dramatic win.
Brief scores:
Gujarat Giants Women 174 for 9 in 20 overs (Beth Mooney 58, Sophie Devine 13, Anushka Sharma 39, Georgia Wareham 11,Tanuja Kanwar 21; Marizanne Kapp 1-34, Chinell Henry 2-38, Nandani Sharma 1-26, Shree Charani 4-31, Minnu Mani 1-23) beat Delhi Capitals Women 171 for 8 (Shafali Verma 14, Lizelle Lee 11, Laura Wolvaardt 24, Jemimah Rodrigues 16, Niki Prasad 47, Sneh Rana 29; Sophie Devine 4-37, Rajeshwari Gayakwad 3-20,Ashleigh Gardner 1-37) by three runs
[Cricinfo]
Canada captain Dilpreet Bajwa won the toss and asked South Africa to bat in their World Cup opener in Ahmedabad.
South Africa have opted for a pace-heavy attack. Keshav Maharaj slots in as their only spinner, alongside the speedy quartet of Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi. Tristan Stubbs also begins the tournament at the No. 6 spot – a position Jason Smith had occupied in their last T20I, while Stubbs had slid down to No. 7. Smith is in the World Cup squad but did not find a spot in South Africa’s starting eleven.
South Africa’s pace is expected to get the most out of a characteristically flat Ahmedabad black-soil pitch. But first, their batters will have a hit in a game they begin as overwhelming favourites against Canada, who are their second World Cup.
Canada’s new captain, Bajwa, will lead the side at a global tournament for the first time. He also slots in at the top of the order, alongside Yuvraj Samra, and their batting power will be key to their hopes of causing a massive upset.
Canada have lost both their warm-up games – to Italy and Nepal – but should their batters come off on a friendly pitch, South Africa will look to have the added insurance of a few more runs in the bank before dew takes over when Canada begin their chase at night.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram (capt), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi
Canada: Dilpreet Bajwa (capt), Yuvraj Samra, Navneet Dhaliwal, Nicholas Kirton, Shreyas Movva, Harsh Thaker, Saad Bin Zafar, Jaskaran Singh, Dilon Heyliger, Kaleem Sana, Ansh Patel
(Cricinfo)
A Hong Kong court jailed pro democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai for 20 years on Monday after he was found guilty of national security offences last December
This is the harshest sentence under the controversial national security law, which China says is necessary for the city’s stability
Lai, who is a British citizen, was one of the loudest critics of Beijing, often wielding his pro-democracy paper, Apple Daily, as a tool of protest
Six former executives of the paper were also jailed on Monday – from six years and nine months to 10 years
Hailed a hero by the pro-democracy movement, Lai is seen as a traitor by Beijing. He has always denied the charges against him
The UK calls for the Chinese government to release Lai, saying it will “rapidly engage further” with Beijing. But Hong Kong’s chief executive welcomes the sentence, saying Lai used “used Apple Daily to poison the minds of citizens”.
Lai’s son, Sebastien, tells the BBC his father’s punishment is “basically a death sentence”.
(BBC)
Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza decided to field first against Oman in the men’s T20 World Cup match at the SSC in Colombo. Both teams were pleased to arrive in Sri Lanka early to get themselves attuned to the conditions.
Zimbabwe have Blessing Muzarabani back in the squad after he missed the tri-series in Pakistan in November.
Oman, meanwhile, include 44-year-old Aaamir Kaleem the oldest player in the tournament – after he came into the side in place of Hasnain Shah, who was injured after the squad was named.
Zimbabwe return to the tournament after missing out on the previous edition in West Indies and the United States of America. They had made it to the Super 12s of the 2022 T20 World Cup but failed to progress through the qualifiers for the 2024 tournament. They completed qualification alongside Namibia; Brian Bennett was the tournament’s top run-scorer, while Brad Evans and Richard Ngarava were among the leading wicket-takers.
Zimbabwe are bolstered by the return of Graeme Cremer, whose November 2025 comeback marked the longest gap between T20I appearances.
Oman are one of three qualifiers from the Asia-Pacific region, alongside Nepal and the UAE. They have previously appeared in the 2016, 2021, and 2024 editions of the T20 World Cup.
Oman: Jatinder Singh (capt), Aamir Kaleem, Hammad Mirza, Wasim Ali, Karan Sonavale, Jiten Ramanandi, Vinayak Shukla (wk), Sufyan Mehmood, Nadeem Khan, Shah Faisal, Shakeel Ahmad
Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Dion Myers, Brendan Taylor (wk), Sikandar Raza (capt), Ryan Burl, Tashinga Musekiwa, Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani
Canada bowl against pace-heavy South Africa
Hong Kong court jails media tycoon and British citizen Jimmy Lai for 20 years
Muzarabani returns as Zimbabwe opt to bowl against Oman
Munsey and Leask spoil Italy’s T20 World Cup debut2
Italy captain Wayne Madsen injures shoulder in T20 World Cup opener
Canada look for early splash against favourites South Africa
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