Navi Mumbai, Jan 10 (IANS) UP Warriorz skipper Meg Lanning went past Ellyse Perry’s tally of 972 runs to become the second-highest run-scorer in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) when she took on Gujarat Giants in the second match of the tournament here at the DY Patil Stadium on Saturday.

Lanning, after her 27-ball 30-run knock, tallies 981 and is just 50 runs short of Mumbai Indians all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt’s tally, who leads the chart with 1031 runs (after Match 1 of WPL 2026).

Sciver-Brunt is the only player in the tournament with 1000+ runs to her name, thanks to a brilliant 2025 campaign that saw her script history. The England skipper, during MI’s victorious WPL 2025 campaign, became the first and only cricketer to score 500+ runs in a single season so far.

The previous record was Perry’s 347, achieved during her team, Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB), victorious WPL 2024 season. The ongoing 2026 season will witness a race between Lanning and Sciver-Brunt, as the two senior pros aim to attain the No. 1 position in the list of all-time top run scorers of the tournament.

Australia’s Lanning, now Warriorz captain, has been one of the most consistent players in WPL history. She played for Delhi Capitals in the first three seasons, scoring 952 runs in 27 matches, helping the franchise reach the finals in all three WPL seasons so far. She was released by DC before WPL 2026 and subsequently acquired by UP Warriorz, who appointed her as the team captain for the ongoing season.

Perry concluded her third successive season of WPL representing RCB with 972 runs to her name. She was a crucial cog in the franchise’s victorious run in 2024. Perry was retained by the team ahead of WPL 2026, but pulled out of the tournament due to personal reasons.

The WPL 2026 began on January 9 and will run till February 5, with the summit clash slated to be played at the BCA Stadium (Kotambi) in Vadodara.

–IANS

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