21 March,2023 07:00 AM IST | Mumbai | Karan Shankar
Grace Harris (left) and Tahlia McGrath during their 78-run stand at Brabourne yesterday. Pic/Ashish Raje
All-rounders Grace Harris (72 off 41 balls, 7x4, 4x6) and Tahlia McGrath (57 off 38 balls, 11x4) secured UP Warriorz (UPW) a spot in the playoffs as they knocked out Gujarat Giants (GG) with a three-wicket win in the Women's Premier League (WPL) at the Brabourne Stadium on Monday. UPW sit in third position with eight points while GG remain at the bottom of the table with four points.
Chasing 178-6, UPW couldn't quite get the start they were looking for, losing Aussie opener Healy (12 off eight) and Kiran Navgire (four off four) within the first three overs to left-arm pacer Monica Patel (1-27) and right-arm pacer Kim Garth (2-29) respectively. Both batters were caught while trying to pull the ball. Opener Devika Vaidya (seven off eight) was stumped by Sushma Verma off left-arm spinner Tanuja Kanwar (1-32).
This brought the in-form Aussie pair of Harris and McGrath to the crease. Having done the bulk of the scoring for UPW in recent games, it was no different on this occasion as they stitched a 78-run partnership to take UPW to 117-3 in the 14th over. McGrath's 10th four brought up her 34-ball 50 in the 13th over. Fellow Australian off-spinner Ashleigh Gardner (1-29) dismissed McGrath the following over, caught at long-on. The dismissal of Deepti Sharma (six off five) made it 130-5.
However, Harris completed her second half-century of the tournament with a four and took UPW to touching distance of victory, needing only seven more runs. Harris was then dismissed in the 19th over by Garth. But Sophie Ecclestone (19 not out off 13) paddle-swept the ball to fine-leg for four to secure two points and a spot in the playoffs.
Earlier, GG opted to bat and it was the sort of start you would expect from an in-form Laura Wolvaardt (17 off 13) and her partner Sophia Dunkley (23 off 13). They took GG to 41-0 after four overs with four fours and two sixes between them. It wasn't all easy-going though, as GG soon fumbled, losing Wolvaardt, Dunkley and Harleen Deol (four off seven) within two overs, one to left-arm pacer Anjali Sarvani (1-21) and the other two to left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad (2-39).
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Once that passage of play was done with, there was a solid partnership of 93 runs between Dayalan Hemalatha (57 off 33, 6x4, 3x6) and Gardner (60 off 39, 6x4, 3x6) which took GG to 43-3 in 16 overs. Hemalatha smashed a 29-ball 50 before being dismissed, trying to clear leg-spinner Parshavi Chopra (2-29) over long-on. Gardner brought up her second half-century in three games in the 18th over. She was stumped by UPW skipper Healy in the following over off Chopra and the innings ended soon after.
West Indian Deandra Dottin has expressed disappointment at her exclusion from Women's Premier League franchise Gujarat Giants, terming it "bewildering." The Caribbean all-rounder was signed for R60 lakh by the Adani-owned side, but before the start of the tournament, she was excluded from the squad on medical grounds. The Giants had stated that Dottin failed to get medical clearance by the deadline, which was why they replaced her with Australia's Kim Garth. Dottin however, claimed that her correspondence with GG's physiotherapist was misconstrued.
Brief scores
GG 178-6 in 20 overs (A Gardner 60, D Hemalatha 57; P Chopra 2-29, R Gayakwad 2-39) lost to UPW 181-7 in 19.5 overs (G Harris 72, T McGrath 57; K Garth 2-29) by three wickets
