Recent Match Report: GG Women vs UPW Women 8th Match 2023/24 | Top Vip News

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UP Warriorz 143 for 4 (Harris 60*, Kanwar 2-23) won Gujarat Giants 142 for 5 (Litchfield 35, Ecclestone 3-20) for six wickets

Grace Harris’ third consecutive fifty against the Gujarat Giants left Beth Mooney’s team winless after three matches and pushed UP Warriorz level with the other four teams in points. Harris’ unbeaten 60 off 33 balls included nine fours and two sixes and turned what was becoming a tense contest into a one-sided affair. Warriorz became the sixth team to win at M Chinnaswamy in eight matches.
In the end, the Giants will reflect on a batting lineup with too many big names but not enough big runs. Although they achieved their highest total of the tournament so far, none of their batsmen managed more than Phoebe Litchfield’s 35 and a clever Warriorz attack kept them quiet.

Warriorz only bowled one over the seam and it was from Anjali Sarvani on the powerplay. He cost 13 runs and caused a squeeze for spin, which was successful except for three overs. Between the 15th and 18th over, the Giants scored 40 runs as Litchfield and Ashleigh Gardner shared a 52-run stand for the fifth wicket.

The chase got off to a fast start thanks to Alyssa Healy’s 21-ball 33 and then all the Warriorz as Harris played her powerplay to secure the win.

Wolvaardt and Litchfield contribute

At the top, the Giants tried a third combination in as many games and got their best result. Laura Wolvaardt, playing her first match of the WPL season, opened with Beth Mooney and they shared a 40-run stand. It was an improvement of 3 between Mooney and Veda Krishnamurthy and 11 between Mooney and Harleen Deol. Wolvaardt deployed consecutive attacks through the offside in the second over to get things going and also demonstrated strong play on the leg side.

Later in the innings, Litchfield, who came in at No. 4, played with reputation and gave some urgency to the meandering innings. After single-digit scores in his first two matches, he scored 19 and he went on to score the biggest six innings, when he hit Deepti Sharma at mid-wicket. Litchfield and Ashleigh Gardner shared the first 50-run partnership of the tournament with the Giants and gave their attack something to bowl to.

The leading T20I player showed why she is rated so highly and took three crucial wickets to keep the Giants in check. Sophie Ecclestone’s opening came in the powerplay when Mooney attempted to lift her to mid-wicket but bowled a catch to Harris in the circle. His second came courtesy of a squeeze for spin (the Giants bowled 19 balls for no boundaries) and Wolvaardt decided he had to go over but sent a simple chance to Chamari Athapaththu, making his WPL debut, at mid-wicket. She should have bowled Litchfield out for 19, but Deepti wasted the chance to cover. Athapaththu made up for the mishap when she gave Ecclestone her third and took a good catch from a short penalty to see out Gardner’s end, for 30.

After failing to sell at auction last year and this year, Athapaththu snuck in through the back door as Lauren Bell’s replacement. He had to wait until the third game to enter the starting lineup and until the second half to do what he does best: hit. Meanwhile, he opened the bowling and finished with figures of 0 for 19 in four overs, the most economical of the attack. But it was only when Kiran Navgire outplayed Tanuja Kanwar and was caught at short third that batsman Athapaththu made her WPL debut. She allowed herself a look and blocked the first ball for four, but then showed off her strong wrists to send the second one through midwicket for four. And that is what many were waiting for. Her partnership with Healy lasted just four balls and thereafter Harris dominated the strike, but when she got the chance she took it. She hit three more fours and fell for a lively 17 to suggest the best is yet to come.

Grace goes through the gears

Warriorz faltered when they lost Athapaththu and Shweta Sehrawat in the space of three overs but had Harris available. By the time Sehrawat was bowled, Harris had 25 off 17 balls and Warriorz needed 53 runs off 56 balls. In the next over, he drove Sneh Rana down the ground with pinpoint accuracy and although he played with the down paddle and the effort over the cow corner, the highlight was the delivery towards the ground. He played it again at the start of the 15th with even better timing. He reached 50 off 30 balls and the Warriorz needed eight runs off 31 balls. He took them to the goal with 26 balls to spare.

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