For the second time in three finals, the former Australia captain had to bow to her old India counterpart Harmanpreet Kaur as the Capitals were beaten by eight runs by Mumbai Indians in Saturday's showdown.
And at the end of the third edition of a tournament in which Australian players had consistently shone, there was huge disappointment for Delhi's Aussie trio of Lanning, Jess Jonassen and Annabel Sutherland, who all failed to deliver with the bat as they tried to chase down a modest 7-149.
At the same Brabourne Stadium where her side lost the inaugural title in front of Mumbai's delirious home support in 2023, Lanning felt the same sinking feeling after Delhi were always struggling once she was dismissed for 13, clean bowled by England allrounder Nat Sciver-Brunt.
Sciver-Brunt finished the tournament in the same magnificent fashion she'd displayed throughout, scoring 30 off 28 balls and taking 3-30. She was the tournament's leading scorer with 523 runs, fourth in the bowling lists with 12 wickets and a runaway winner of the event's MVP award.
But it was her formidable 36-year-old skipper Harmanpreet who was the key to the victory, as her fearless 66 off 44 balls, as wickets tumbled around her, ensured that Mumbai, put in to bat by Lanning, would at least set Delhi a challenging target.
"We're bitterly disappointed. We feel like we put ourselves into a good position to win - but that's the game, you win some you lose some, and unfortunately, we've been on the wrong side," shrugged Lanning, the third-highest scorer in WPL annals after enjoying another impressive season with the bat.
Having topped the league table to earn direct qualification to the final, all was going swimmingly for Delhi as they had Mumbai reeling at 2-20 by the end of the powerplay.
But Harmanpreet and Sciver-Brunt dug the Indians out of a hole with an 89-run partnership, featuring 15 boundaries.
Jonassen (2-26) and Sutherland (1-29) had both done their bit to restrict the Mumbai total, but one of them needed to produce with the bat once Lanning's nine-ball knock at the top of the order was curtailed.
But New Zealand spinner Amelia Kerr, the tournament's 'purple cap' winner as top wicket-taker with 18 scalps, had Jonassen caught behind for 13 off a googly and Sutherland got stumped for just two after being deceived by Saika Ishaque's left-arm spin.
Marizanne Kapp (40) and Jemimah Rodrigues (30) tried to keep the Delhi dream alive but got little support, with only Niki Prasad's last-gasp 25no off 23 proving too little too late in their 9-141.
Australians' contributions to the 2025 edition of the WPL were marked afterwards by seasonal awards to Ash Gardner, the Gujarat Giants skipper who hit the most sixes (18), and to Annabel Sutherland, whose sprinting-diving take in the deep, in an earlier match against Mumbai, was voted catch of the tournament.
Ultimately, though, the title went the one team in the tournament without an Aussie in their ranks.
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