Updated: 21 March 2023
UP Warriorz Seal Playoffs Spot By Winning A Thriller Against Gujarat Giants. In the Women’s Premier League (WPL), Gujarat Giants were up against UP Warriorz at Brabourne Stadium. Sneh Rana-led Gujarat Giants is at bottom of the points table with two wins and five losses; whereas UP Warriorz are placed at the third position in the WPL points table with an equal number of wins and losses in six games.
Gujarat Giants won the toss and decided to bat first. Their openers added 41 runs in just four overs. UP’s new ball bowler Anjali Sarvani dislodged the stumps of Laura Wolvaardt. The proteas batsman could make 17 runs from 13 balls. Harleen Deol departed early after making only four runs off seven balls. Spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad dismissed both Dunkley and Harleen in her second over.
Dayalan Hemalatha And Ashleigh Gardner Smashed Individual Fifties
Next batsmen Dayalan Hemalatha and Ashleigh Gardner rescued Giants from 50 for three. They weaved a vital partnership of 93 runs for the fourth wicket. After settling in middle, both batsmen were attacking. Hemalatha brought up her fifty with a terrific six down the wicket. She took just 30 balls to complete her milestone.
Hemalatha made 57 runs off 33 balls with the help of six fours and three sixes. Gardner completed her fifty in just 35 deliveries. Garner smashed a whirlwind knock of 60 runs off just 39 balls before getting dismissed by Chopra. Due to the sparkling knocks of these two batsmen, the Giants posted 178 on board in 20 overs after losing eight wickets.
Tahlia Mcgrath And Grace Harris Helped Warriorz To Get Over The Line
While chasing a huge target of 179 runs, Warriorz lost the top three early in the innings. Middle-order batsman Tahlia McGrath and Grace Harris stitched a crucial partnership of 78 runs. McGrath showered boundaries in all parts of the ground. She survived initially as Tanuja Kanwar dropped her catch on her bowling.
Harris also played some big strokes and amassed 17 runs off one over bowled by Harleen. McGrath completed her fifty in just 34 balls. At last, Gardner gave a breakthrough to her team by dismissing McGrath. The Aussie batsman made 57 runs off 38 balls.
Harris smoked two sixes in back-to-back overs but she was dismissed by pacer Kim Garth in the penultimate over of the game. However, lower-order batsman, Sophie Ecclestone smashed a boundary on the penultimate ball of the final over to finish the match on a winning note for Warriorz. Harris made 72 runs off just 41 balls with the help of seven fours and four towering sixes.
Brief Scorecard: UP Warriorz 181/7 (19.5 overs) (Harris 72, McGrath 57, Garth 2/29) beat Gujarat Giants 178/6 (20 overs) (Gardner 60, Hemalatha 57, Parshavi 2/29) by three wickets.
Playing XIs Of Gujarat Giants and UP Warriorz
Gujarat Giants Playing XI: Sneh Rana (c), Sushma Verma (wk), Sophia Dunkley, Monica Patel, Tanuja Kanwar, Ashwani Kumari, Laura Wolvaardt, Ashleigh Gardner, Dayalan Hemalatha, Harleen Deol, Kim Garth
UP Warriorz Playing XI: Alyssa Healy (wk/c), Devika Vaidya, Deepti Sharma, Parshavi Chopra, Anjali Sarvani, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Kiran Navgire, Tahlia McGrath, Grace Harris, Sophie Ecclestone, Simran Shaikh
