WPL 2023: Top batting performances from the league stage

WPL 2023: Top batting performances from the league stage of Women's Premier League. Sophie Devine's 99 off 36 balls tops the chart.

Sophie Devine scored 99 off 36 against Gujarat Giants (Images: ©WPLT20/Twitter)

The inaugural edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL) is in full swing, and now has entered the elimination round.

Three teams which have qualified for the knockout matches are Delhi Capitals who are on top of the point table, Mumbai Indians placed second on the point table, and UP Warriorz.

Here is a list of the batters who performed miraculously to take their teams further in the WPL.

Sophie Devine (99 off 36 against Gujarat Giants)

New Zealand's big hitter Sophie Devine has left everyone awe-struck after her blistering innings for RCB-W against Gujarat Giants (GG).

The 33-year-old Kiwi veteran demonstrated her superpower ability with a bat, but unfortunately missed out the first-ever century in the WPL. She raced to 99 off just 36 balls in a do-or-die match for Royal Challengers Bangalore against GG. Devine smashed eight sixes and nine fours, collecting a total of 84 runs from boundaries. Her strike rate was 275.00. She smashed a 94-metre six that went into the upper-tier of the stand, and was registered as the biggest one in the WPL.

This innings of hers would be remembered as one of the most selfless innings in the history of cricket. She got caught at mid-off while trying to go for a massive shot over the top in a bid to take RCB to the quickest possible victory to help their net run-rate, rather than just going for a single run that would have completed her first ever century in the league. She played an entirely different innings, with every ball she was trying to convey a statement that RCB were still there in the game.

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Shafali Verma struck 76 off 28 balls against Gujarat Giants (Images: ©WPLT20/Twitter)

Shafali Verma (76 off 28 against Gujarat Giants)

India’s teen batting sensation Shafali Verma's innings of 76 off 28 balls against GG was a fierce display of power game. She scored the fifty in just 19 deliveries, which was the fastest half-century by an Indian in the WPL.

Delhi Capitals (DC) chased down the target of 106 runs in the eighth over with all 10 wickets to spare as Verma added 26 runs after her fifty to end at 76 runs off 28 balls. She demolished GG bowlers mercilessly. Standing up to her image as a power-hitter, Verma scored 70 runs through boundaries, in which 10 fours and five sixes were included. Her strike rate was above 271.

Read More: WPL 2023: Know more about lesser-known players – Part II

Alyssa Healy smashes 96 off 47 against RCB Women (Images: ©WPLT20/Twitter)

Alyssa Healy (96 off 47 against Royal Challengers Bangalore)

Skipper of UP Warriorz Alyssa Healy led from the front with a dazzling 96 runs off 47 balls against RCB. It was a clinical, clean-striking knock; she hammered the bowling line-up of RCB with her massive power shots around the ground.

During her unbeaten knock, Healy smashed 18 fours and a six. She managed to up her strike rate dramatically once she reached 50 off 29 balls, and then she scored another 46 runs off just 18 balls. Her innings strike rate recorded was above 204.

Harmanpreet Kaur (53 off 33 against UP Warriorz)

One of the most consistent all-rounders of India Women's cricket team, Harmanpreet Kaur, never disappoints. She is always there when her team needs her to step up and score runs.

Kaur scored a match-winning 53 runs off 33 balls and remained not out against UP Warriorz, and laid the foundation for the win. Kaur and Natalie Sciver-Brunt's 106-run stand for the third wicket is now MI’s second century-plus stand in WPL 2023. It's also the best stand for the third wicket by any side in the WPL.

She recorded her second fifty in WPL, hitting nine fours and one six, and played her innings with a strike rate of 160 and above. Although Kaur got luck by her side as in the eleventh over Anjali Sarvani bowled Kaur around the legs, but the bails did not come off.

Read More: Mumbai and Delhi dominating Women's Premier League 2023

Kanika Ahuja's 46 off 30 helps RCB W beat UP Warriorz (Images: ©WPLT20/Twitter)

Kanika Ahuja (46 off 30 against UP Warriorz)

“Mere dimag main bas yeh chal raha tha ki mujhe match jeetna hai,” These words show the mental toughness and confidence of a young 20-year-old Kanika Ahuja.

RCB were chasing 136 against UP Warriorz, but had lost their three big strikers Smriti Mandhana, Sophie Devine and Elysse Perry- when Ahuja came to begin her innings in the seventh over. RCB needed 76 off 66 balls. She just stepped up and handled the pressure very calmly in a must-win match after five consecutive losses. Ahuja's 46 off 30 balls is the highest score by an uncapped player in the WPL so far, and it came at a crucial time.

Ahuja displayed a 360-degree range in her strokeplay, and smashed eight fours and one massive six. She played a few cheeky ramps along with some slogs on the leg side, and gave bowlers a nightmare.

Mumbai Indians will play UP Warriorz on March 24 in the Eliminator. Delhi Capitals will face the winner of the eliminator in the final on March 26.

Read More: WPL 2023: Know more about lesser-known players – Part I