Time ripe for Lanning & Co. to step up

Delhi Capitals had a couple of practise games in their camp in Pune ahead of WPL 2025 © BCCI
Two seasons, two finals and two losses have seen the Delhi Capitals fail to stack up their first trophy in their cabinet. And with the third edition merely three days away, the Capitals would look to grab their hands on the elusive title, a feat which even the men's team have failed to do over the years. Reflecting on the last two seasons, captain Meg Lanning said that it would be important for the team to sustain what they had been doing over the last two years and hopefully go one step further.

"Yeah, obviously we've had two good seasons without being able to finish it off the way we would have liked in winning the title," Lanning said. "So I guess the key for us is maintaining what we've been doing well. We think we have been playing some really good cricket and doing a lot of things right. And then just evolving and making a few little changes here and there that we think will make a big difference and hopefully allow us to take that next step. So yeah, it's not a big shift from us... It's just some small things here and there to take us to the next step."

Head coach Jonathan Batty reaffirmed Lanning's stance on the team's having played excellently over the last two years. And he was keen to see how the domestic players of the Capitals have improved over the off-season, and especially highlighting Minnu Manni who made her ODI debut for India in December 2024.

"Meg was absolutely spot on when she said we've played some fantastic cricket the last two years. What's been really nice for me is seeing how our domestic players have improved over every off-season. A lot of people probably don't know that we run regular camps through the off-season. Players come in, obviously do specialised work with our coaches.

"A great example would be Minnu Manni, who came to us two years ago. Very raw, hugely talented individual. Looking at where she's gone now, obviously representing India. I take a huge amount from that, that we're developing players as well as obviously playing really good cricket and trying to compete for the title as well."

The Capitals set up their training camp in Pune as a kick-starter to the season and played some practice games to get their players ready for the tournament. With Lanning having arrived a few days after everyone else had assembled, she felt they had found exactly what they were looking for.

"I came in a few days after the whole squad sort of assembled. But it was very clear that they had been putting in a lot of hard work and really sort of trying to get ourselves together for the tournament. So we have had a couple of practice games, which I think are really invaluable just to allow players to go out there and find their T20 rhythm and also sort of find their role within the team and how that sort of fits. So both those games were excellent. I think we got out of it what we wanted individually and as a team. So that's nice."

The Capitals skipper was once again looking forward to batting with Shafali Verma with whom she has amassed 868 runs in 18 matches - including five fifties and three century partnerships. Unfortunately for Verma, she had been dropped by the Indian team for the series against Australia and West Indies but is coming off a stellar domestic season with her 197 against Bengal in the one-day trophy being the highlight.

"Yeah, I love batting with Shafali. She often puts on a very entertaining show and I've got the best seat in the house watching from the other end most of the time. So in the practice game, she did a very similar thing a few days ago. She looks like she's in really good touch and enjoying herself and having fun too, which I think is really important.

"So for me, just watching her play with freedom, expressing herself, when she does that, plays a really important role for our team. So I always enjoy batting with her. We get on really well and hopefully this season can continue on from where we have been the first two."