Henry, Goud give UP Warriorz maiden win of WPL season, beat Delhi Capitals by 33 runs
Bengaluru, Feb 22 (PTI): Chinelle Henry’s (62) record-equalling half-century and four wickets each for Kranti Goud and Grace Harris gave UP Warriorz their maiden win in the third edition of the Women’s Premier League as they beat Delhi Capitals by 33 runs here on Saturday.
UPW came roaring back into the contest riding on Henry's excellent 23-ball 62, studded with eight sixes and two fours, to set a 178-run target for the Delhi side.
Henry etched her name in the record books in the first half when she hit an 18-ball fifty to register the joint-fastest fifty in WPL history in terms of balls faced, joining Sophia Dunkley who recorded the feat in 2023 edition for Gujarat Giants against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
The unheralded Goud then broke the back of Delhi Capitals’ chase as they could only manage 144 in 19.3 overs.
The 21-year-old uncapped Goud accounted for DC’s top-order — Shafali Verma (24), Meg Lanning (5), Jemimah Rodrigues (56) — and later on Jess Jonassen (5) to return 4-0-25-4.
In their previous meet, Delhi had clinched a commanding seven-wicket win a few days ago but to their credit, UPW produced an all-round performance to record their maiden win in the competition.
The victory lifted UP Warriorz from the bottom of the points table as they moved one place above to get to the fourth. They now have two points from three matches after one win and two defeats.
On the other hand, Lannings’ Delhi remained third with four points in as many games. DC have won two and lost as many so far this season.
Delhi were in trouble when Lanning was cleaned up by Goud in the fifth over and Verma failed to push on despite a positive start, making 24 off 30 balls with four fours.
For Delhi, India batter Rodrigues waged a lone battle of sorts to make a fine 56 off 35 balls with eight fours and a six but her effort went in vain.
After their top-order flopped, Delhi’s strong middle-order also could not make a dent when their overseas trio of Marizanne Kapp (9), Annabel Sutherland (5) and Jess Jonassen (5) fell in quick succession.
Earlier, West Indies’ Henry struck eight sixes and two fours in her 23-ball 62 and provided a much-needed impetus to UPW, who were limping at one stage at 91 for six after 14 overs.
The right-handed Caribbean batter struck three sixes in Arundhati Reddy's penultimate over of the innings to bring up her fifty in only 18 balls.
Henry's whirlwind knock at No. 8 lifted UP Warriorz out of doldrums as they were facing the risk of being restricted for a moderate total after each of their specialist batters had flopped.
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Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Mamata Banerjee of stalling SIR; TMC hits back
Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.
The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.
Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.
She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.
"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.
The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.
Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.
Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.
She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.
She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.
Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.
Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.
"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.
Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.
Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.
"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.
Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.
Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.
She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.
The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.
Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.
Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."
"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.
"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.
