HISTORY: DC’s Nandani Sharma takes a hat-trick, picks up 4 in an over against Gujarat Giants

In a sensational final over, Delhi Captials' Nandani Sharma dismissed Kanika Ahuja, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, and Renuka Singh, becoming the fourth player in WPL history to pick up a hat-trick.

Nandani Sharma picked up 4 wickets in the final over of the first inning. Image | BCCI

In the high-octane world of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), stars are often born in the span of a single over. Tonight, at the DY Patil Stadium, that star was Nandani Sharma. In a final over that will be etched into tournament folklore, the Delhi Capitals’ young seamer produced a sensational hat-trick to dismantle the Gujarat Giants, finishing with a flourish that left the opposition, and the fans, in a state of shock.

Coming into the final over of the innings, the Giants were already wobbling, but few could have predicted the clinical devastation Nandani was about to unleash. After a testing debut in the Capitals' opener, where she struggled for rhythm, this was a redemption story told in three deliveries.

The perfect final over

The drama began on the fourth ball of the 20th over.

Nandani, showing maturity beyond her years, deceived Kanika Ahuja with a clever, slower delivery on a length outside off. Ahuja, dancing down the track in a desperate attempt to find the boundary, swung blindly and was left stranded as Lizelle Lee whipped off the bails in a flash.

With the crowd still cheering the stumping, Nandani steamed in for the next delivery and produced a peach. A zipped-up, good-length delivery on middle stump caught Rajeshwari Gayakwad rooted to the crease.

The bat came down late and at an angle, but the ball was too quick, crashing into the middle stump to put Nandani on a hat-trick.

The tension was palpable as Renuka Singh walked out to face the final ball of the innings. Nandani stuck to the plan discussed with senior teammates Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues: bowl at the stumps.

She delivered a length ball just outside off; Renuka attempted a desperate lap shot but missed entirely. The ball thudded into the leg stump, sparking scenes of unbridled joy.

By varying her pace and targeting the "furniture," she exploited the Giants' lower-order anxiety. Her final over figures read: 1, W, 1, W, W W, turning a competitive total into a manageable one.

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"I just wanted to bowl at my target"

Nandani’s celebration was a mix of raw emotion and disbelief as she sprinted across the turf, eventually being mobbed by her teammates. She becomes only the fifth player in WPL history to claim a hat-trick, joining the elite company of Issy Wong, Deepti Sharma, Grace Harris, and Marizanne Kapp.

"I did not expect it, but the team told me I could get wickets," a beaming Nandani said after the match. "After my first over, I noticed they were hitting my stock ball well, so I moved to my variations. My brother, my mother, and my friend are here in the stands. It means everything."

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