Watch- Saima Thakor sledges Shafali Verma first, then gets her wicket and pops up in the celebration

UP Warriorz seamer Saima Thakor was in an aggressive mode last night after Shafali Verma instigated her to hit the stumps in a heated eye-to-eye altercation. In the very next ball, Saima removed the DC opener with a sensational comeback good length delivery for a clean bowl. It was one of those interesting moments that made the fixture between the two teams even more exciting.

The sheer drama unfolded last night as the Alyssa Healy-led UP Warriorz registered only their 3rd victory of the season against last season’s runners-up. It was a last-ball win and a 1-run victory at the home turf of Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley stadium. That emphatic win increased UP’s chances of reaching the playoffs as they currently find themselves in the 4th position with 6 points.

Watch the drama between Shafali Verma and Saima Thakor

𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 समझे क्या? 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 है ये 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 🔥

Saima gets the better of Shafali in #DCvUPW!#TATAWPL #TATAWPLonJioCinema #TATAWPLonSports18#JioCinemaSports #CheerTheW pic.twitter.com/ORIYwdLEYA

— JioCinema (@JioCinema) March 8, 2024

During Delhi Capitals’ unsuccessful run chase of 138 runs, the moment between DC opener Shafali Verma and Saima Thakor unfolded. It was in the 3rd ball of the 4th over when Saima Thakor bowled a good length ball to Shafali who struck the ball down to the bowler’s hands. Saima Thakor tried to intimidate Shafali by showing that she was throwing the ball for a run-out.

That intrigued Shafali to ask her to actually throw instead of just threatening. As Saima Thakor went back for her run-up, the commentator did say something was cooking between the two. In the very next ball, Saima bowled an identical delivery and this time, Shafali missed the entire length while trying to pull it away before the stumps lit up.

As a result, the aggressive DC opener lost her wicket for just 15 off 12 before Meg Lanning stood up for the task and took the onus on her shoulders. The Delhi captain dragged her team pretty close to the target but she will be gutted to not have been able to finish off the game for her side.

Meg Lanning claims Delhi Capitals’ loss her fault too

Lanning’s effort of 60 runs off 46 was very important but the following DC batters just couldn’t handle the pressure. While speaking to Anjum Chopra in post-match, Lanning expressed her frustration and just like a true leader she took the blame on her shoulders as well.

“Disappointed not to win, felt like we got into a pretty good position to get it done. Full credit to the Warriorz. My wicket probably played a little part in it, I was the set batter and probably had to take it a little deeper, my wicket put pressure on the rest of us.” – Meg Lanning said via Jio Cinema. 

“Probably didn’t play the conditions as well as we could have but as a captain, I shouldn’t have put my team in that position. We certainly did a lot of things right, think we did well to pull them back towards the end and also batted pretty well. Goes to show that if you can’t string it together for 40 overs it’s hard to win.” – Lanning concluded.