Delhi Capitals beat UP Warriorz by 5 wickets in Match 20 of the TATA WPL at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
All-round Alice Capsey sparkled as she took 3/26 and hit 34 off 31 balls to help DC finish top of the table and qualify directly for the final.
The DC bowlers led by Capsey and Radha Yadav (2/28) did well to restrict UPW to 138/6. Meg Lanning then set the platform for DC with a brisk 23-ball 39. Capsey (34 off 31) and Kapp (34* off 31) then played calculated knocks to help DC chase the target down with 13 balls to spare.
Chasing 139, DC got off to a brisk start as Lanning went berserk against Shabnim Ismail, hitting her for three fours and a six to garner 20 runs from the first over.
Shafali Verma too started off aggressively as she hit a couple of fours, one off Soppadhandi Yashasri and one off Anjali Sarvani. She then hit back to back fours off Yashasri as the opening pair brought up the fifty in just the fifth over. Yashasri though had the last laugh as she had Shafali caught at long on, off the same over with Ecclestone taking a good low catch.
DC moved to 67/1 at the end of the Powerplay.
Healy then brought back Ismail and the pacer bounced back hard after the 20-run first over to strike first ball and trap Jemimah Rodrigues LBW on 3 and four balls later she bounced out Lanning on 39 (23) to jolt DC.
Capsey though counter-attacked and hit three fours off Ecclestone to release the pressure. Marizanne Kapp provided her good support as the pair brought up 50-run stand off 52 balls. The pair played sensibly and added 60 off 57 balls to bring DC closer to a win. Capsey couldn't stay there till the end as she was stumped off Ecclestone with just 9 needed to win.
Jonassen then got run out with three needed. Kapp however kept her calm and finished the chase off with 13 balls to spare. She remained unbeaten on 34 off 31 balls as DC won the match by five wickets.
Earlier, Delhi Capitals captain Meg Lanning won the toss and elected to bowl. They went unchanged while UP Warriorz made three changes as Shweta Sehrawat, Soppadhandi Yashasri and Shabnim Ismail were named in the side.
Alyssa Healy and Shweta Sehrawat got UPW off to a brisk start as the pair added 30 runs from the first four overs. Healy started off with a cracking cut through point four a four off the first ball of the innings, off Marizanne Kapp. Sehrawat then hit two fours off Shikha Pandey and then one off Kapp and Jonassen each. She was looking in good rhythm but then Lanning introduced Radha Yadav into the attack and the move paid off as she sent back Sehrawat for 19 (12).
The DC bowlers pulled things back and gave away just eight runs off the next two overs as UPW reached 38/1 at the end of the Powerplay.
DC could have got another wicket but captain Lanning dropped Simran Shaikh as extra cover when on 1, off Arundhati Reddy.
Healy then tried to up the ante with a six and a four and then got a lifeline as Alice Capsey dropped a tough caught and bowled chance. Healy though couldn't make the most of it as she was stumped after hitting a four in the same Capsey over.
UPW weren't getting any sort of momentum and the pressure from the DC bowlers paid off as Radha came back to dismiss Shaikh, caught at mid off.
McGrath then finally upped the ante as she hit three fours off the Arundhati Reddy over. The Warriorz though lost the wicket of Kiran Navgire in the next over as she swung at a flighted one from Jonassen but completely missed it and was stumped.
McGrath though continued to attack as she hit consecutive fours off Radha. She however got a lifeline next ball as she mistimed one straight down the ground and Capsey dropped the catch.
Capsey however returned to have Deepti Sharma stumped off the first ball of her next over and then three balls later had the in-form Ecclestone stumped as well.
McGrath though was unstoppable as she hit a four and a six off Jonassen and then hammered two fours and a six off the final over from Capsey to bring up her fifty off 30-balls and propel UPW to 138/6. 19 runs came off the last over, the biggest of the innings. McGrath remained not out on 59 off 32 balls. Capsey finished with figures of 3/26.