Sophie Devine and Rajeshwari Gayakwad fashioned Gujarat Giants 45-run win over UP Warriorz in the Women’s Premier League at Vadodara on Thursday night.
A chase of 154 was expected to be straightforward but the Gujarat bowlers did not let UP Warriors get away at all. Meg Lanning and Kiran Navgire fell to unfortunate dismissals and once Phoebe Litchfield fell, the Giants ran the Warriorz ragged.
Gayakwad was excellent with her flight and change of pace as she picked up 3 for 16, while Renuka Singh and Devine picked up two wickets each. “I am playing after a long time, and this feels great as I have done so well. Didn’t do anything different, just bowled to my strengths. The supports staff has backed me a lot and just did what I was asked. The wicket helped me a lot and I was successful. Whenever I play against Lanning, I want to get her out. I didn’t get her out but I got Deepti out and I am very happy about it. I focused a lot on myself and have backed myself a lot,” said Player of the Match Gayakwad.
Only three Warriorz batters managed to reach double figures as they collapsed to 108 all out.
This total of 153 is the lowest defended this season.
“We scrapped well with the bat. We took the momentum from the batting innings to the bowling innings. 150 was a defendable total. The bowlers put them under pressure.” said Giants’s skipper Ashleigh Gardner.
On the nature of the wicket in Vadodara and how different it was from the one in Navi Mumbai, Gardner said, “It is very different. Red soil to black soil is a stark difference. There is lesser bounce and is slow. The batters have to adjust. Making sure with the ball that we are hitting the stumps. We just spoke about fighting. We were all on the same points so it was like restarting our campaign. So we just wanted to stay positive. We are trying to implement things and trying to do the good things for a long time.”
Rajeshwari grabbed her opportunity with both hands
On her trump bowler Gayakwad, she said, “She had an impact and I am so happy for her. She got the opportunity and grabbed it with both hands. She turned the momentum for us. She knows the conditions and I leaned on her experience.”
Earlier, it was Devine all the way as he struck an unbeaten half-century to help Gujarat Giants reach a modest 153 for eight. Devine struck two fours and three sixes as her 42-ball 50 helped the Giants have something to bowl for.
“Was an interesting game of cricket. I though 150 was competitive. We knew the batters UP have in their line-up. When we got the two big wickets, it was about hanging on and holding our nerves. We have got flexibility to bring Danni in the side. It was no biggie to slot down to five. The way that Gayakwad came and performed was outstanding. The way she deceived the batter with flight and pace was fantastic,” said Devine.
“Both innings seem to take a while. We had our chance, we put ourselves in a nice position with the ball, but things didn’t fall into place. Full credit to Giants, they stuck it out and on that sort of a wicket, that’s what matters. We planned for all their batters. We knew what we were coming against. Sophie (Devine) was the difference in the end,” said Lanning.
“With the new ball, she (Kranti Gaud) can get a bit of movement. She has confidence and she has been excellent for us. Plenty of time to think about things. Would have been nice to go into the break with a win, but we will take some time to rest and reset. We need to win both games,” the Warriorz skipper added.
Brief scores: Gujarat Giants 153/8 in 20 overs (Beth Mooney 38, Sophie Devine 50 no; Kranti Gaud 2/18, Sophie Ecclestone 2/22) beat UP Warriorz 108 in 17.3 overs (Phoebe Litchfield 32, Chlore Tryon 30 no; Renuka Singh 2/20, Sophie Devine 2/16, Rajeshwari Gayakwad 3/16).
