Delhi Capitals (DC) secured their spot in the TATA Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 Eliminator with a hard-fought five-wicket victory over UP Warriorz (UPW) at the BCA Stadium in Vadodara, in the final league game of the season. Led by a clinical bowling performance from Marizanne Kapp and a composed finish by captain Jemimah Rodrigues, Delhi chased down a modest target of 123 to eliminate defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) from the playoff race.

The win ensured DC maintained their perfect record of reaching the playoffs in every WPL season so far. They will now face Gujarat Giants (GG) in the Eliminator on February 3, 2026, for a place in the final against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

Winning the toss and electing to field, DC immediately put UPW on the back foot. Chinelle Henry set the tone by dismissing UPW skipper Meg Lanning for a duck with the very first ball of the match.

Kapp soon joined the act, removing Deepti Sharma (24) and Charli Knott (12) to leave the Warriorz reeling at 36/3 at the end of the powerplay overs.

UPW's middle order struggled to build partnerships against a disciplined DC attack. Harleen Deol (3) and Deandra Dottin (5) fell cheaply, while Simran Shaikh (22) provided a brief resistance before falling to Henry. Kapp ended with excellent bowling figures of 3/30. DC’s spin duo of Minnu Mani and Sree Charani also joined the wickets party, and with the help of some sharp fielding, DC left UPW stunned at 95/8 after 17 overs.

A late, unbeaten cameo from Shikha Pandey (23* off 13 balls) ensured UPW crawled to 122/8, a total that looked well below par.

DC's chase began with a slight hiccup as Lizelle Lee was dismissed early for 10. However, Laura Wolvaardt and Shafali Verma took control, stitching together a composed 73-run partnership for the second wicket. Wolvaardt was the aggressor, striking seven boundaries in her 36-ball 47, while Shafali played a more measured role with 29 off 33 balls.

At 84/1, the chase seemed like a formality until a dramatic middle-order collapse occurred. Deepti Sharma, Sophie Ecclestone, and Shikha Pandey chipped in with the ball and in the field, taking four quick wickets as DC slipped to 101/5. Deepti claimed the crucial wickets of Wolvaardt and Henry, Ecclestone dismissed Kapp, while Pandey removed Shafali to spark hopes of a UPW comeback.

With 22 runs required from the final four overs and the pressure mounting, skipper Jemimah took charge. Displaying calm under fire, her unbeaten 34 off 18 balls saw her hitting five boundaries, including the winning boundary through cover to seal victory with eight balls to spare.