New Delhi: Gujarat Giants kickstarted their Women’s Premier League (WPL) campaign as they chased down their first win of the season, securing a six-wicket win against UP Warriorz at the Kotambi Stadium, Vadodara on Sunday.
GG needed to bounce back after their defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the season opener and an all-round performance led by skipper Ash Gardner got them through comfortably in the end.
Chasing 144, Gujarat faced early setbacks as opener Beth Mooney and Dayalan Hemalatha were dismissed for nought, Grace Harris (1/1) and Sophie Ecclestone (2/16) providing the early breakthroughs to leave them reeling at 2/2 in 1.3 overs.
However, Gujarat Giants’ captain Ash Gardner led from the front with a valiant 32-ball 52 under pressure, having taken 2/39 after electing to bowl. Gardner stitched a 55-run partnership with Laura Wolvaardt (22) to stabilise the innings. Ecclestone picked up her second wicket, dismissing the South African batter for 22.
Tahlia McGrath (1/21) was unable to turn up with the bat earlier, but she compensated by picking the big wicket, dismissing her fellow Aussie Gardner. Although Wolvaardt and then Gardner departed, Deandra Dottin (33) and Harleen Deol (34) ensured there were no further hiccups, raising a 58-run fifth wicket stand to steer Gujarat to a well-deserved win by six wickets with 12 balls in hand.
GG opted to bowl and put Warriorz under pressure early on before managed to restrict them to a below-par total of 143 – the lowest score of the season so far.
Warriorz got off to a promising start, thanks to a brisk knock from opener Kiran Navgire (15). However, her stay was cut short when West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin trapped her lbw, shifting the momentum in Gujarat’s favour.
A brief resistance came from captain Deepti Sharma (39) and wicket-keeper batter Uma Chetry (24), who stitched together a steady partnership of 51 runs. However, things unravelled once that stand was broken.
The turning point came when leg-spinner Priya Mishra (3/25) produced a game-changing over, dismissing two of Warriorz’s most dangerous batters – Tahlia McGrath (0) and Grace Harris (4). The double blow left the Warriorz reeling at 78/5 with their middle order in disarray.
Gardner (2/39) and Dottin (2/34) were the support act for Mishra, claiming two wickets apiece.
Late fireworks from new recruit Alana King (19) and Saima Thakor (15) helped UP scrape past 140, offering a glimmer of hope. Eventually, it did not prove to be enough.
“Very pleased, we weren’t very far away in the other game,” said Player-of-the-Match Gardner. “To play this brand of cricket and winning today’s game at home feels special. Our bowlers did a great job and someone like Priya Mishra taking three wickets in just her second WPL game was brilliant.”
On the batting approach of the team, Gardner said: “Individual assessment, everyone has their own method to do batting. You see Dottin clears her front leg and whacks sixes and someone like Deol is methodical in her approach. We have a deep batting lineup and hopefully you will see the best of it still.”
