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UP Warriorz defeated Gujarat Giants by 3 wickets in a nail-biting thriller in their opening match of the WPL 2023 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Sunday.
Grace Harris played a brilliant knock of 59 off 26 balls not out, hitting seven fours and three sixes to pull off a close win with just one ball remaining. Another significant contribution came from Kiran Navgire, who batted at No.3 and scored 53 off 43 balls, with five fours and two sixes.
While chasing 170, the UP Warriorz collapsed to 35/3 in the Powerplay. It was a perfect start with the ball for GG as pacer Kim Garth displayed a swing bowling masterclass by removing dangerous Alyssa Healy caught and bowled, Shweta Sehrawat caught at short third man and then Tahlia McGrath caught at slip, all in the third over.
27-year-old Navgire then helped UPW to recover from the initial setback and also provided stability along with all-rounder Deepti Sharma. Navgire was cautious yet aggressive and brought her fifty off 40 balls.
Medium-pacer Mansi Joshi finally broke the 68-run partnership by cleaning up Sharma with an inswinger. Garth then provided the UPW with two important wickets by first dismissing Navgire caught behind off a short ball, followed by cleaning up Simran Shaikh off the very next ball to register the second five-wicket haul of the WPL.
Just when it looked like the Giants were the favourites, Harris turned things around and smashed one six and three fours back-to-back to make the match interesting. Sophie Ecclestone also chipped in with a four and a six as UPW collected 44 runs from three overs (17 to 19).
In the final over, the equation came down to 19 off six balls. Harris smashed Annabel Sutherland for a six over deep mid-wicket on the first ball of the over to bring the equation down to 13 off five. Feeling the pressure, Sutherland then bowled a wide outside off which was called a WIDE by the on-field umpire. GG looked unhappy with the decision and reviewed it but the decision was upheld.
Harris then played a flick onto the leg side for a couple, followed by a lofted shot straight down the ground for a four. Sutherland once again bowled a wide outside off which was eventually declared a wide after a successful review by the UPW.
With 5 runs needed off the last three balls, Harris lofted one over cover for a four to bring up her fifty off just 25 balls and then hit the next ball over deep square leg for a six to finish it off in style as the UPW celebrated with joy.
Earlier, winning the toss and electing to bat first, Gujarat Giants captain Sneh Rana led the side in absence of Beth Mooney who was ruled out due to a leg injury that she suffered in their first match against the Mumbai Indians. GG made three changes to the side as Sushma Verma (wk), Kim Grath and Sophia Dunkley were named in the side.
Giants were off to a quick start with Dunkley and Sabbhineni Meghana setting the pace early as the duo hit a couple of fours each off Anjali Sarvani and collected 17 runs in the second over. In the next over, Meghana combined timing and placement to hit a couple of fours off left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad.
Just when it was looking dangerous for the UPW, the dependable off-spin all-rounder Sharma cleaned up Dunkley for 13 in her first over. Meanwhile, one brought two as the No.1 T20I bowler Ecclestone removed Meghana caught at short third man in her first over. With just 15 runs scored off the last three overs, GG finished the powerplay at 45/2 in the first six overs.
The spin-bowling duo of Sharma and Ecclestone kept building the pressure as Sutherland was caught at long-on off Ecclestone while going for a big one.
Wicket-keeper Sushma Verma and Harleen Deol then tried to recover the Giants with a 26-run stand for the fourth wicket. However, McGrath removed Verma for 9 in the 11th over, caught while going for a big hit.
All-rounder Ashleigh Gardner then tried to bring some momentum back for the Giants with a small cameo of 25 off 19 balls, before Sharma broke the partnership once again removing Gardner stumped.
Deol, who was going well at one end, then changed the gears as she smashed four 4s off leg spinner Devika Vaidya in the 17th over. However, Deol was eventually dismissed off Sarvani with just 4 short of her fifty, scoring 46 off 32 as she was caught trying to clear the mid-wicket fence.
Dayalan Hemalatha then provided a boost to the Giants’ innings with a late cameo of unbeaten 13-ball 21 to take GG to a competitive 169/6.
Grace Harris was named the Player of the Match for her match-winning 59 not out off 26 balls.
Brief Scores: UP Warriorz 175/7 in 19.5 overs (Grace Harris 59*, Kiran Navgire 53; Kim Garth 5/36) beat Gujarat Giants 169/6 in 20 overs (Harleen Deol 46, Ashleigh Gardner 25; Sophie Ecclestone 2/25, Deepti Sharma 2/27) by 3 wickets.
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