At the WPL 2026 auction table, Gujarat Giants went big for Sophie Devine. INR 2 crore big. New Zealand's T20 World Cup-winning captain, Devine wasn't just a marquee name on the list - she's a proven match-winner across conditions. And in blending her trademark power with smart adaptability, she's already proving why GG's investment was worth every rupee - never mind those twilight years of her career.

After a year away from the WPL, and with a new franchise, Devine has made her mark for the Giants not just with the sheer number of runs she's put on the board in their wins, but how and when she's scored them.

On the run-laden wickets of the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, Devine went full throttle. Opening the batting, she unleashed a brutal 95 against Delhi Capitals, backing her aggressive strokeplay. The conditions allowed complete freedom, and she played with fearless abandon.

Vadodara, however, demanded nuance.

With the WPL caravan moving to the black-soil pitches that offered less bounce and pace, the batters' instincts were being tested. Sure enough Devine fumbled too. In her first game at the venue, she went for an early cross-batted shot and paid the price with a four-ball duck in a fatal top-order collapse against her former franchise, RCB.

The decision was made then, as Devine would reveal later, for her to drop down the order in the high-stakes game against UP Warriorz. Danni Wyatt-Hodge would come in to make-up for the intent up top, even if it meant breaking up the highly successful trans-Tasman opening pair for the team's cause. Vadodara's wickets demanded some patience before power. And across this rapid shift in roles, based off conditions, Devine showcased elite adaptability to play a defining role in pushing GG up to the second spot in the points table with a well-paced half-century.

Now, No. 4/5 isn't entirely new to Devine. She's dropped herself down the order in the White Ferns' line-up too, albeit with different intentions. But time at the crease was currency, and the veteran recogonised the need to get her eye in before pressing on the accelerator.

Devine arrived at 65/2 at the start of the 10th over when GG had just lost their captain to an ill-advised shot across the line. A straight-batted defence back to the bowler was her first shot, and a couple of more dots later, Devine sunk on one knee and brought out the slog-sweep just wide of the deep midwicket fielder for maximum damage. It was a rare sight of aggression from GG since losing two early in the PowerPlay, and losing well-set Beth Mooney two overs later further threatened to slow down GG.

Devine went at about run-a-ball until the 15th over, which is when Giants raised their team's 100. They needed at least 50 more to put up a fight. At the dawn of slog-overs, for a well-set Devine batting on 21 off 23, it was time now to unleash in the company of the big-hitting Bharati Fulmali. Except, she led to the Indian's run-out. Ball-watching as Phoebe Litchfield eventually fumbled the take off her aerial sweep, Devine stayed her ground even as Fulmali ran across to the striker's end. The part-time legspin of Chloe Tryon consumed Kanika Ahuja, and Sophie Ecclestone nipped the Kashvee Gautam threat in the bud in the following two overs. If they could tighten the leash further, UPW already seemed set to extend GG's losing streak to four.

However, rather than letting her mistake linger, Devine compensated the only way she knows - by taking control at the back-end, maximising each of the eight balls GG had left to play with. How Devine brought her experience to the fore proved the tactical move down the order wasn't in vain.

Preempting that Ecclestone would want to close off the wicket-over with wide yorkers, Devine stood well outside off and clubbed the half-volley straight down for four. She deployed the same tactic to neutralise Shikha Pandey in the final over, opening up her access all-round and throwing a spanner in the works of the Indian pacer. Sure enough it induced a mistake from the bowler. Devine was almost on her way back to the hut - having found Litchfield at deep midwicket with that flat and hard hit off the low full-toss - before the siren rang. Pandey erred again, and sent the free-hit right in the batter's hitting arc. This time Devine ensured it landed miles beyond the ropes.

The push for a non-existent second cost Renuka Thakur's wicket in a run-out but ensured Devine was on strike for the final-two deliveries, and she took full toll. Leaving her stumps exposed, she knew Pandey will resort to bowling full and straight in the stump-line, and Devine was waiting. She went down on the back knee again, and swept it flat over the vacant deep backward square for another maximum. Then she scampered across for two off the final ball, not with an eye on her milestone, but to give GG every extra run that could make a difference. The 153 Devine pushed her team to - plucking 21 off the final-eight deliveries and finishing unbeaten on a 42-ball 50 - eventually was the differentiator, as the opposition captain Meg Lanning stated.

The total proved 45 too many for UPW who found out first-hand, a short while later, just how contrasting the two venues were and the difference in approach it demanded. Post-match Lanning noted, "certainly not wicket you can't score on, you have just got to find a different way," in, perhaps, an indirect acknowledgement of Devine's efforts.

It was a calculated attack showcasing the kind of death-overs work Devine has honed over the last couple of years since switching to a middle-order role for the country. More importantly, across the two venues Devine showcased the other extreme of her value that often gets overshadowed by her destructive prowess with the bat. It was adaptability on multiple levels - a change in batting position, a timely shift in tempo, tactical awareness against specific bowlers, and quick lessons learnt from a mistake two nights ago. A hallmark of a seasoned veteran, as she'd later admit herself.

"I guess I've batted a lot and in all sorts of different positions, so it's no biggie for me," Devine said after her defining hand in halting GG's three-match losing streak. "So being able to just go down and slot down at number 5, yeah, I guess, that's probably one of the bonuses of having played for so long, is that you can just adjust and adapt to the role that the team needs from you."