Deepti Sharma has achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first Indian bowler to secure a hat-trick in the Women’s Premier League.
Deepti pulled off an extraordinary feat in her team’s nail-biting 1-run victory against Delhi Capitals Women at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on March 8. This win significantly boosts UP’s chances of making it to the playoffs, putting them ahead of their close rivals, the Gujarat Giants.
Deepti Sharma showcased an outstanding all-round performance, making crucial contributions with both bat and ball. Although the Warriorz trailed for most of the match, their collective effort eventually secured the victory.
Deepti, batting at number 3, scored 59 off 48 deliveries after Navgire’s dismissal. However, her disappointment was palpable in the 20th over when she left the crease, as none of her teammates in the middle order provided the support needed to add 20-30 more runs to UP’s total.
Despite Healy’s 29 runs, only Grace Harris managed to score more than 10 runs from the middle order. The contributions from Tahlia McGrath, Shweta Sehrawat, Poonam Khemnar, and Sophie Ecclestone were minimal. Thanks to Deepti’s hard-fought fifty, the Warriorz set a target of 139 runs.
Defending this target at the Arun Jaitley Stadium required a heroic bowling performance from UP. DC started well with Shafali Verma and Meg Lanning, but things took a turn after Verma’s dismissal at 22 runs.
Alice Capsey, batting at number 3, couldn’t get going and departed for 15. Jemimah Rodrigues and Lanning formed a brief partnership, but the tide turned when Deepti Sharma claimed Lanning’s wicket with an LBW.
Lanning’s dismissal triggered a chain reaction, with wickets falling in quick succession. Rodrigues left for 17 runs in the 17th over, and the dramatic turn continued as Annabel Sutherland, Arundhati Reddy, Shikha Pandey, Radha Yadav, Jess Jonassen, and Titas Sadhu all lost their wickets.
Deepti Sharma played a pivotal role in this turnaround, initiating it with her comeback spell after dismissing Meg Lanning in the last ball of the 14th over. In a historic moment for WPL, Deepti secured a hat trick in the 19th over, becoming the first-ever Indian bowler to achieve this feat in WPL history.
She achieved a hat-trick in the WPL, making her the second bowler to do so after Issy Wong of the Mumbai Indians in the first season of the WPL last year.
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