Bottom-dwellers Gujarat Giants registered their second win of the Women's Premier League (WPL), beating UP Warriorz by eight runs in a keenly-contested encounter in match 18 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Monday (11 March), hurting the Warriorz's chances of securing a place in the playoffs and pushing them to the brink of elimination.
Electing to bat first, Gujarat Giants rode on an unbeaten half-century by skipper Beth Mooney (74 off 52 balls) while fellow opener Laura Wolvaardt blasted a 30-ball 43 as they raised 60 runs for the opening wicket. But Gujarat Giants lost wickets in regular intervals as they managed 152 for 8 in 20 overs.
Ashleigh Gardner (15) and Kathryn Bryce (11) were the other Gujarat batters to reach double figures. Sophie Ecclestone (3-38) and Deepti Sharma (2-22) were the wreckers in chief as they shared five wickets between them.
Chasing 153 for victory and a place in the Playoffs, UP Warriorz got off to a poor start they lost their captain Alyssa Healy (4), Kiran Navgire (0) and Chamari Athapaththu (0) in quick succession, 4/3 in the second over. Deepti Sharma waged a lone battle, hammering an unbeaten 88 off 60 deliveries, studded with nine boundaries and four maximums, and with help from Poonam Khemnar (36 off 26 balls) kept UP Warriorz in the hunt till the end. Shabnam M.D was the best bowler for Gujarat Giants with 3-11 in four overs.
Deepti completed her half-century in 44 balls and raised 109 runs for the sixth wicket, but the going was too slow and the UP Warriorz left themselves too big a hurdle to surmount towards the end. They eventually fell short by eight runs.
Brief scores:
Gujarat Giants 152/8 in 20 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 43, Beth Mooney 74 not out; Sophie Ecclestone 3-38, Deepti Sharma 2-22) beat UP Warriorz 144/5 in 20 overs (Deepti Sharma 88 not out, Poonam Khemnar 36 not out; Shabnam MD 3-11) by eight runs.
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