In the aftermath of UP Warriorz’s crushing 45-run loss to Gujarat Giants in Match 14 of Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 at Kotambi Stadium, Vadodara, skipper Meg Lanning faced the media with characteristic candour.
The defeat on January 22 left her side rooted at the bottom with 4 points from 6 games (2 wins, 4 losses), while Gujarat Giants surged to second with 6 points (3 wins, 3 losses) after Sophie Devine’s all-round heroics and Rajeshwari Gayakwad’s 3/16 sealed a morale-boosting victory.
Lanning reflected on the bowling effort that restricted the Giants to 153/8, praising patches of dominance but lamenting missed opportunities. “Yeah, I think with the ball we had some really good patches. We probably got ourselves into a really good position and probably didn’t finish it off. We created chances, but tonight, probably didn’t take them as much as we would have liked,” she said.
Kranti Gaud’s 2/18, including Danielle Wyatt-Hodge and Anushka Sharma, and Sophie Ecclestone’s 2/22 kept things tight, but Beth Mooney’s 38 and Devine’s unbeaten 50 off 42 propelled the Giants past 150 on a tricky surface.
The chase unravelled spectacularly at 108 all out in 17.3 overs, UPW’s second-lowest WPL total. A deflection run out off Renuka Singh’s bowling dismissed Kiran Navgire for a golden duck (0 off 1), extending her lean run of just 16 runs in 6 innings.
Lanning followed soon after, bowled by Kashvee Gautam for 14 off 10 when the ball deflected off her thigh pad. Phoebe Litchfield’s 32 and Chloe Tryon’s unbeaten 30 offered flickers of hope, but Gayakwad’s middle-order demolition and Devine’s 2/16 buried any revival. Gardner’s 1/23 added to the pressure as the Giants defended with clinical fielding.
Addressing Navgire’s form, Lanning remained supportive amid the opener’s struggles. “Yeah, Kiran is working really hard; it’s just a matter of transferring that to the game. So yeah, no doubt she’ll continue to work hard over the next week or so, and hopefully we can see her turn it around.”
She pinpointed a broader issue for UPW: failing to sustain momentum. “I think it’s just capitalising on the momentum that we get. We got some momentum going and then lost a wicket and then had to start again, and it can be a little bit tricky on this wicket,” Lanning noted, highlighting how crucial partnerships eluded her side against disciplined bowling.
On Vadodara’s pitch, lower bounce than Mumbai’s but still scoreable, Lanning urged adaptation. “It’s more the bounce than anything else. You’ve just got to find a different way to do it and adapt to the conditions.” She downplayed a brief umpire discussion over Litchfield’s dismissal, calling it a “fine discussion” to check for a bumped ball.
With a week-long break before facing RCB, on 29th January 2026 (Thursday), Meg Lanning eyed recovery. “We want to win those couple of games and give ourselves a chance. We’ll switch off over the next couple of days and really focus on what we can keep improving.” Playoffs now hinge on other results, but her focus stays on internal fixes for the Warriorz’ flickering campaign.
Loves all things female cricket