Kiran Navgire’s Blazing Fifty Not Enough as UP Warriorz Fall Short Against Delhi Capitals

Kiran Navgire’s explosive 51 off 27 balls proved insufficient as UP Warriorz suffered their second consecutive defeat in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024, falling to Delhi Capitals by seven wickets on Wednesday. Despite the loss, the opener remains optimistic, believing her knock has provided a much-needed confidence boost ahead of the Bengaluru leg.

“I stuck to my basic plan of watching and hitting the ball. The runs you score in the PowerPlay help in converting starts,” Kiran said after the match. “I tried to make full use of the PowerPlay, executing my plan of hitting the ball hard. Today’s knock gave me a lot of confidence, and it will help me going forward in the tournament. There is a match-winning knock also in the offing.”

Navgire gave the Warriorz a strong start, but the Capitals bounced back with timely breakthroughs, restricting UP to 166. Reflecting on the total, Kiran admitted they fell short of a competitive target.

“It was a very good pitch for batting. Around 180 would have been enough to win the match. But we fell short by 10 to 15 runs,” she noted.

Delhi’s chase was powered by a solid opening partnership between Meg Lanning and Shafali Verma. However, the Deepti Sharma-led Warriorz fought back with quick wickets, applying pressure through dot balls rather than focusing solely on dismissals.

“We discussed taking the game deep and increasing the percentage of dot balls,” Kiran explained. “We didn’t focus on getting wickets because it was a flat pitch, making batting easy.”

Kiran also praised Deepti Sharma’s leadership, emphasizing the positive atmosphere within the squad. “Deepti is very cool as a captain. It feels great to play under her. She handles all the players very well, and there is never any pressure,” she said.

With two losses from as many games, the Warriorz now head to Bengaluru, hoping to turn their campaign around. Despite the setbacks, Kiran remains confident about her team’s potential.

“The positive is that we are a well-balanced team. We will back our players and try to win all the matches in Bengaluru,” she concluded.

The Warriorz will need to capitalize on their strengths and convert promising performances into victories as they aim for their first points of the season.