The Gujarat Giants picked up an in depth eight-run win over the UP Warriorz on Monday within the 2024 Ladies’s Premier League on the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, denting their opponent’s possibilities of making it to the playoffs.
Giants captain Beth Mooney gained the toss and performed an instrumental knock in her group ending with a rating of 152/8 on the finish of 20 overs. Finally, they managed to defend the entire by proscribing the Warriorz to 144/5.
The 153-run goal may have been troublesome to defend given the facility and skills within the Warriorz’s lineup. However the Giants discovered an ideal begin within the unlikeliest of sources.
Mooney, after the match, talked about how the group determined to offer 16-year-old Shabnam Shakil the brand new ball for the reason that opposition might not know a lot about her. The transfer paid off as {the teenager}, taking part in in solely her third WPL match, picked up three essential wickets and completed with figures of three/11 – essentially the most economical figures for an Indian bowler within the event’s historical past.
Shakil, who was part of the Indian group that gained the inaugural ICC Beneath-19 Ladies’s T20 World Cup final 12 months, additionally registered a WPL record-equalling 19 dot balls – sharing the honours with Hayley Matthews, Shabnim Ismail and Marizanne Kapp.
Within the first over of the second innings, she dismissed Australia captain Alyssa Healy, who tried to hit over the infield however solely managed to sky her effort to Mannat Kashyap at long-off. Three balls later, Shakil dismissed Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu for naught, with Ashleigh Gardner taking a wonderful operating catch at cowl.
Kathryn Bryce picked up Kiran Navgire’s wicket and Gardner acquired the higher of Grace Harris earlier than Shakil bowled her Beneath-19 World Cup vice-captain Shweta Sehrawat with a pointy supply that swung inside on the bounce and rattled the off-stump.
The 5 wickets in fast succession left the Warriorz reeling at 35/5 after seven overs.
That’s when Deepti Sharma took cost of the innings with Poonam Khemnar on the reverse finish.
Sharma performed yet one more spectacular innings with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 88 off 60 (her third consecutive half-century), with 9 boundaries and 4 sixes whereas Khemnar completed with a run-a-ball 36 (with three boundaries and one six).
Regardless of the gradual begin, the duo’s partnership gave the Warriorz some hope. Sharma additionally struck two sixes within the closing over, with the Warriorz needing 24 off six. Two singles nevertheless added to the stress and with Sharma on strike, the UP-outfit wanted 10 off two.
Sharma tried to hit massive in the direction of mid-wicket however solely discovered the fielder. Giants’ Meghna Singh needed to solely make sure the final ball of the match was a authorized supply – which Khemnar swung at however missed – to safe the win.
Within the first innings, openers Laura Wolvaardt and Mooney gave the Giants a great begin. Wolvaardt was finally stumped for 43 off 30, with the Giants at 60/1.
Other than the openers nevertheless, solely Gardner (15 off 10) and Bryce (with a run-a-ball 11) managed to achieve double figures. Mooney continued to bat however didn’t discover stability on the different finish.
She performed a key innings – though she was dropped as soon as, and benefitted from some shoddy fielding – to complete with an unbeaten 74 off 52, with 10 boundaries and one six.
The win provides the Giants a mathematical likelihood of creating it to the playoffs. They’re on the backside of the desk with simply two wins this season, however they should beat the Delhi Capitals subsequent.
The UP group in the meantime are carried out with the group stage of the competition, and can want the Mumbai Indians to win by a giant margin over the Royal Challengers Bangalore for the Warriorz to achieve the playoffs.