When Sophie Devine was tossed the ball in Vadodara at the start of the final over against Delhi Capitals, eight runs to play with and Gujarat Giants' fate hanging by a thread, there was remarkably not much going through her head.

"Simplicity, really."

She walked to the top of her bowling mark knowing both results were possible - that she can be the hero, and she can be the reason the campaign slipped away.

It nearly did slip away. Earlier that night, in the 17th, she had been hit for 23 runs. The margin for error was gone. The over brought DC storming back into the contest. Yet, when the stakes were highest, the Giants went back to the same bowler and Devine didn't reach for anything new. She instead "stripped it back" to basics, and stayed on the stumps.

"It sounds very simple, maybe even cliched, but that's really it," Devine tells Cricbuzz.

"It comes with experience and the ability to ride the emotions and at some point as well take the emotions out of it and just to enjoy the challenge and to enjoy the competition because it's a game. At the end of the day, you strip it back. You're having fun out there. Whether there's a mountain of pressure on you or not, it's a game. And it's moments like those that you play for, is to try and help your team get across the line."

She has done it twice over, actually. Successfully defending six runs a fortnight ago, against the same opposition, in a different set of conditions, Devine let everyone else at the ground feel the nerves. Especially the team that wanted her the most all along.

The irony here is hard to miss. Devine was the second name out of the marquee bag in the mega-auction 2026. Alyssa Healy was first and, much to everyone's shock, had gone unsold. Delhi weren't merely driving up the New Zealander's price - they were genuinely invested in landing the deal. DC stayed in the bidding war until her value climbed to INR 2 crore - a 300% raise from her previous contract and, crucially, over 35 per cent of their small auction purse with a dozen more purchases to make after.

In T20 cricket, Devine's reputation precedes her bat. Power, intent and fearlessness - that's what teams usually line up for. And yet, in WPL 2026 Devine has underpinned Gujarat Giants' season with something far less glamorous in franchise cricket - composure. For a team that had spent much of its formative years in the league frustratingly finding ways to lose from winning positions, this has almost felt surreal.

At 36, in the twilight years of her career, Devine is arguably bowling at her finest in the shortest format over the last 15 months. She was Perth Scorchers' leading wicket-taker in WBBL 2025 in their runners-up finish, she captained New Zealand to their maiden T20 World Cup title, and has now emerged as WPL's most reliable death bowler. Ask Devine what's changed and she just shrugs at the suggestion. This version - the one closing out tense games and wearing the Purple Cap to her own surprise - hasn't been about new skills with the ball but instead about better decision-making under pressure.

"The bit I have always known - power and aggression has been my real key strengths. So, tapping into that but also probably trying to be a bit smarter with it. When I was a little bit younger, I was probably a little bit ruthless and erratic at times trying to tame that.

"Having played for so long, having captained, having played in lots of different franchise leagues, international cricket, you do learn just to try and stay really consistent and calm whether you're doing really well or you've been absolutely smashed for a bucket load of runs."

That challenge has mushroomed in league cricket, where surfaces and conditions change by the week and reputations mean very little on the day. But she's learnt to measure success by context, and not by economy rates alone. And that, too, has come with age.

"It's just sometimes trying to narrow that focus as much as you can on a wicket like that and also being a bit more accepting that going at 8, 9, 10s an over in Navi Mumbai is actually probably OK, whereas here in Baroda it's [about] how can I keep them to 6 or 7 an over."

Over the last 18 months, clarity has come in the form of properly defined roles. Whether she's captaining or not, across teams and competitions, Devine has found consistency in when - and why - she bowls. "The teams that I've played in lately, there's been a really clearly defined role for me and where I fit into that. Any time that you have consistency with roles - you ask any player, whether that's with a bat or a ball - is you build confidence from that and knowing what you need to do and what's required. I'm no different to anyone else. Having that consistency and clarity of role has helped me... Ultimately, it's always about putting the team first."

What Devine rejects is the idea that rhythm or momentum can be relied upon in the shortest format. "I would say rhythm's a thing in 50-over cricket, but T20s, because it's so quick and the game can change so fast... There's days where you feel like rubbish and you bowl great, and there's days where you feel a million bucks and you get smashed. So, it's just trying to find that happy medium of how you can continually perform at a standard, regardless of how you're feeling, and find a way through. It's down to doing as much preparation as you can to feel in a place where you really just go out there and try and perform."

This mindset of comfort with discomfort is probably why Devine has thrived in clutch overs. It's perhaps also why she's put her hand up for bowling across phases now, even if it "can sometimes be a blessing and a curse." The thing with being "the jack of all trades and the master of none is that on some days you're the hero, and on others, you're exposed."

What helps Devine is how little she carries forward from one over to the next. A quick reset is non-negotiable. It's this uncomplicated approach, even under extreme pressure, that is reflected in skipper Ash Gardner's belief against DC.

After being taken apart by Delhi's lower-order in Vadodara, Devine knew exactly what she'd done wrong. "Reflection is really quick for me. And it has to be particularly in a game. I knew I mis-executed the first two balls - that just didn't hit the stumps. I was probably complacent and got punished for it, which is what happens at this level.

"So, for me being able to rectify where I went wrong and make sure that I can correct it... for Ash to throw me the ball, I guess, shows a real sign of belief and trust in me to get the job done. You've got to have pretty thick skin in this game and you've got to have the ability to move on quickly, which I guess, thankfully, I've managed to do."

There's some pressures though that never fade, and experience only makes it a little bit easier to cope with. Price tags, for example.

"No, I wish, 20 years of experience helped in living with that pressure," Devine says. "Any player would be probably lying if they say they hadn't felt the pressure of price tags. Everyone knows what you're getting paid. You're there to do a job and you feel like you've got to live up to, I guess, the value that they've paid for you. There's not too many other jobs where everyone knows how much you're getting paid. So it brings a different element to it, but it's the reality and it's not going to change."

When the conversation turns to the future, there's no particular roadmap. She almost scoffs at the idea of LA Olympics 2028. "Not at all! Not a bloody chance."

The slow-fade from White Ferns' set-up - she relinquished New Zealand's T20 captaincy as handover and then retired from ODIs - is a succession plan which stands to benefit the newcomers to pick her brains while she's still around for the enjoyment.

But there's also clarity: "I certainly know the end is very close."

Which, perhaps, explains why Sophie Devine is bowling like someone who knows what she has to offer, and why she's savouring every moment she still has on the field.

And until such a time comes, "no more 23-run overs would be nice. I mean, unless I'm the one with the bat."