Nat Sciver-Brunt’s all-round heroics sealed another dominating eight-wicket victory against UP Warriorz to reclaim the top spot with a hat-trick of victories. As a result, she was also awarded the Player of the Match.
The two teams in desperate need of points, Gujarat Giants led by skipper Ashleigh Gardner, were up against the home side, led by skipper Smriti Mandhana, who are yet to get a win under their belt in the Bangalore games of the 3rd season of the WPL.
Both sides made a change each, Dayalan Hemalatha replaced Simran Shaikh for the Giants. Prema Rawat replaced Ekta Bisht in the starting 11 for the home side led by skipper Smriti Mandhana.
Giants’ bowlers step up after skipper Ashleigh Gardner opts to bowl first
Giants’ bowlers brought them roaring in the contest, removing the big three Danielle Wyatt-Hodge, Ellyse Perry, and skipper Smriti Mandhana inside the powerplay. Ellyse Perry was dismissed for her first-ever duck in the Women’s Premier League (WPL), after the Giants skipper Ashleigh Gardner won the toss and opted to bowl first.
The duo of Kanika Ahuja (33 off 28) and Raghvi Bist tried their best to counter-attack with a much-needed 48-run partnership for the 4th wicket. In a comedy of errors, skipper Ashleigh Gardner dropped the catch of Raghvi Bist, however, it didn’t cost her side courtesy of brilliant game awareness from Bharti Fulmali smashes a direct hit at the bowler’s end, to find Raghvi Bist short of the crease, providing the much-needed fourth breakthrough for the Giants.
After the departure of Raghvi Bist, the home side kept losing wickets at regular intervals and they eventually managed to post a total of 125/7 in their quota of overs, on the back of 23-run partnership for the 7th wicket between Georgia Wareham (20* off 21 balls) and Kim Garth (14 off 15 balls), to take them past the 120-run mark.
Tanuja Kanwar (4-0-16-2), and Deandra Dottin (4-0-32-2), picked up a couple of wickets each with the ball, while Kashvee Gautam (4-0-17-1), and skipper Ashleigh Gardner (4-0-22-1) were impressive with the ball for the Gujarat Giants.
Ashleigh Gardner, Phoebe Litchfield guide the Giants back to winning ways
Chasing a modest total of 126, Dayalan Hemalatha was promoted to open the innings alongside wicket-keeper batter Beth Mooney and the duo stitched a decent 25-run opening partnership, which was a much better start as compared to the previous games this season.
Renuka Singh picked up the wicket of Dayalan Hemalatha to provide the first breakthrough for RCB. In one of the rarest of occasions when the wicket-keeper batter Beth Mooney (17 off 20 balls) was unable to capitalise on a steady start as she made her way back to the pavilion in her bid to switch gears, soon after the conclusion of the powerplay to provide Renuka with her 2nd breakthrough of the day.
Skipper Ashleigh Gardner joined Harleen Deol at the crease and the duo formed a much-needed 34-run partnership for the 3rd wicket to settle the nerves in the Gujarat camp. An adrenaline rush moment from Harleen Deol, looking to go aerial, ended up in miscue, which resulted in her wicket to provide the 3rd breakthrough for the home side.
Phoebe Litchfield joined Ashleigh Gardner at the crease and the duo took their side on the brink of victory with another crucial 51-run partnership for the 4th wicket. Skipper Ashleigh Gardner (58 off 31 balls) completed her 3rd half-century (58 off 31 balls) before chipping one straight back to Georgia Wareham in the 16th over of the run chase.
The Giants eventually got over the line with 6 wickets in hand and 21 balls to spare. Phoebe Litchfield (30* off 21 balls) guided her side over the line with an impressive outing, especially after a duck in her first appearance in the ongoing 3rd edition of the WPL. Renuka Singh Thakur (4-0-24-2), Georgia Wareham (3-0-26-2) picked up a couple of wickets each, while Sneh Rana (4-0-23-0) and Kim Garth (2.3-0-19-0) were impressive with the ball for RCB.
Skipper Ashleigh Gardner was awarded the Player of the Match for her impressive all-round contributions, leading from the front for her side. She returned with impressive match figures of 4-0-22-1 with the ball and scored her 3rd half-century, 58 off 31 balls, with the bat, playing a crucial role in helping her side get back to winning ways, while also keeping the Giants in the hunt for play-offs qualification. With that defeat, the Smriti Mandhana-led RCB suffered their 3rd straight loss at home in the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
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