Image Credit- BCCI
Gujarat Giants
defeated UP Warriorz in a thrilling victory that stretched to the last over,
maintaining their hopes of a postseason berth. After the lead fluctuated
throughout the game, the Giants’ victory margin was their narrowest and they
had only won four times in the previous two seasons.
Giants got off to a strong start with to a partnership of 60 runs in eight
overs between Laura Wolvaardt and Beth Mooney, but a mini-collapse left them
hovering around 73 for 3. After 18 overs, the middle order was pressed by
Warriorz spinners, leaving them at 120 for 7, but Mooney’s unbeaten 74 helped
the Giants record a competitive 152.
Warriorz seemed
absolutely out of the match at 4 for 3 and then 35 for 5, but Deepti Sharma’s
third consecutive half-century brought them back into contention. She and
Poonam Khemnar established a 109-run partnership, and if she batted to the very
last over, she might have pulled off a spectacular heist. Warriorz fell by just
eight runs despite needing 18 off the final five balls, but their problems go
much beyond their hitting.
Warriorz have dropped 16 catches all together in the competition, two of which
came in this particular game. Mooney finished on 74* after being knocked down
on 42 and 50. He was the reason the Giants were able to score 152 in the end,
rather than likely being limited to 120.
Sophie Ecclestone,
the leading wicket-taker for Warriorz, was not shy in her criticism of her when
she let her off. She told the broadcaster after the innings break, “I wish
my team could catch the ball sometimes.”
Warriorz won’t be able to go to the Eliminator unless they can cause Royal
Challengers Bangalore to lose against Mumbai Indians by a significant margin on
Tuesday and Delhi Capitals to defeat Giants on Thursday. Giants, however, need
to win their final game by a big margin and hope Royal Challengers lose
big.