BENGALURU: Ashleigh Gardner and Phoebe Litchfield’s blitzkrieg powered Gujarat Giants (GGT) to 142/5 against UP Warriorz (UPW) in the 8th match of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday.
After winning the toss Alyssa Healy’s UPW won the toss and sent the Gujarat-based franchise to bat first.
Laura Wolvaardt (28 runs from 26 balls) and Beth Mooney (16 runs from 16 balls) opened for GGT and made a 40-run partnership. However, The skipper was unlucky to lose her wicket in the 6th over against Sophie Ecclestone. Mooney slammed just 2 fours with a strike rate of 100.00. Harleen Deol replaced her.
The second wicket came after Ecclestone made a breakthrough again as she dismissed Wolvaardt in the 10th over. The Gujarat opener hit just 4 fours with a strike rate of 107.69. Phoebe Litchfield replaced the Proteas batter.
Rajeshwari Gayakwad picked up off-form Deol’s (18 runs from 24 balls) wicket in the 13th over. The 25-year-old smashed just 1 four. Ashleigh Gardner replaced the Indian batter.
After a poor performance from the opening batters, Gardner and Litchfield took things in control and posted a solid target to the UP Warriorz.
But Gardner’s (30 runs from 17 balls) knock could not last long and was dismissed by Ecclestone in the 19th over. The Aussie batter smashed 4 fours and 1 overhead boundary with a strike rate of 176.47.
Just after few balls, Litchfield (35 runs from 17 balls) was unlucky to lose her wicket by run out from Saima Thakor. The 20-year-old hit 4 fours and 1 six with a strike rate of 134.62.
In the end, Dayalan Hemalatha (2 runs from 4 balls) and Kathryn Bryce (5 runs from 7 balls) were on the crease and added some runs to take the Gujarat-based franchise to 142/5.
On the other hand, Ecclestone led the UPW bowling attack after she scalped three wickets in her four-over spell. Apart from the English bowler, Gayakwad bagged one wicket.
In the second inning, UP Warrioz need to make 143 runs to win the match.
Brief Score: Gujarat Giants 142/5 (Phoebe Litchfield 35, Ashleigh Gardner 30; Sophie Ecclestone 3/20) vs UP Warriorz. (ANI)
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