Gujarat win their first WPL match in hard fought clash

Gujarat Giants clinched their first victory in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) as they beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 11 runs. The two sides crossed swords in Match 6 of the WPL at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday, March 8.

Sneh Rana-led Giants won the toss and decided to put up a target in the first innings. Though Gujarat were handed a blow in the form of Sabbhineni Meghana’s dismissal, Sophia Dunkley and Harleen Deol took the onus of scoring the big runs.

The duo hit the ground running swiftly and found the boundaries consistently. Dunkley breathed fire and stole the show as she amassed her first half-century which interestingly was the fastest thus far in the WPL. Dunkley score her fifty in just 18 balls with nine boundaries and two maximums to her name.

Meanwhile, Harleen too notched up a half-century (67 off 45 balls) before she was sent packing by Shreyanka Patil. Dunkley too was dismissed for 65 runs in 28 balls after she batted at a stunning strike rate of 232.14. The side eventually posted a total of 201/7 runs as Heather Knight and Patil racked up two wickets each.

RCB fire in mammoth run chase, but fall short of the target

With the equation in place, RCB simply required a collective performance which could make their job easier in the run chase. The side pinned their hopes on skipper Smriti Mandhana and veteran star Sophie Devine to fire in the mammoth run chase.

However, Mandhana yet again faltered as she could only get 18 runs to her name in 14 balls as Ashleigh Gardner got her scalp. On the other hand, Devine began shifting gears and smashed the ball over the boundary ropes on numerous occasions. With this, the batter got her fifty in 36 balls with little help coming from Ellyse Perry who got 32 runs off 25 balls.

However, Perry’s dismissal meant that the onus was on Devine to steer the side to a potential win. Though she tried hard to score the maximums, a mis-timed shot led to her heading back to the dugout after scoring 66 runs off 45 balls. Heather Knight (30* off 11) too tried to put up a fight down the order but the side fell short. Thus, the Giants handed RCB their loss on the trot, thereby winning their first game of the tournament.