Warriors win with fifties from McGrath, Harris

Mumbai Grace Harris (41 balls, 72 runs) and Tahlia McGrath (38 balls, 57 runs) hit explosive fifties as UP Warriors beat Gujarat Giants by three wickets in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) on Monday. Qualified for

Giants scored 178 runs in a ‘do or die’ match with the help of half-centuries from Dayalan Hemlata (57) and Ashley Gardner (60). Warriors chased down the target of 179 runs in 19.5 overs to knock the Giants out of the tournament.

After the initial setbacks to the Giants, Hemlata and Gardner brought the team out of trouble by sharing a 108-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Hemlata scored 57 off 33 balls with the help of six fours and three sixes, while Gardner scored 60 off 39 balls with the help of six fours and three sixes to take the Giants to a strong score.

Chasing the target, the Warriors also lost three quick wickets, but the Harris-McGrath pair once again came forward to save the team and added 78 runs for the fourth wicket. Warriors lost the wickets of both these batsmen before reaching the target, although they needed seven runs in the last over to win. Sophie Ecclestone (19 not out) took five runs off the first four balls and hit a boundary off the fifth to give the Warriors a memorable win.

The Warriors are third on the WPL table with eight points from seven matches and have qualified for the playoffs. Giants ended their campaign with just two wins from eight matches, while Royal Challengers Bangalore (seven matches, four points) were also knocked out of the tournament with their defeat.

Chasing a tough target of 179, the Warriors lost skipper Alyssa Heela and Kiran Navagire early. Healy (12) caught Harleen Deol off Monika Patel while Navgire was dismissed by Kim Garth.

McGrath played some good shots after coming to the crease but before the end of the powerplay, Devika Vaidya also left him and returned to the pavilion. Grace Harris joined McGrath after the Warriors fell to 39 for three. The pair once again got the Warriors out of trouble by sharing a century partnership. McGrath mainly played an attacking role in this partnership, but Harris hit two sixes and a four in the 12th over to take the Warriors past the 100-run mark. McGrath completed his half-century by hitting a four in the next over.

The partnership was taking the Warriors to victory but Gardner dismissed McGrath to make the match exciting. Before the Warriors could recover from the blow, Sneh Rana got Deepti Sharma back to the pavilion. McGrath scored 57 runs off 38 balls with the help of 11 fours, while Deepti could only manage six runs.

Harris did not stop despite two consecutive setbacks and hit Tanuja Kanwar for two fours while completing her half-century in the 17th over. Warriors came close to the target by scoring 23 runs in the 18th and 19th overs with the help of Harris’ aggression. Kim Garth dismissed Harris on the fourth ball of the 19th over to revive the excitement of the match, although Eccleston showed composure under pressure with a four to seal the Warriors’ victory.

Giants won the toss and elected to bat but after an aggressive start, they lost three wickets in quick succession. Openers Laura Woolward and Sophia Dunkley shared a 41-run partnership for the first wicket in four overs. Anjali Sarwani dismissed Woolward (13 balls, 17 runs) on the first ball of the fifth over, while Dunkley (13 balls, 23 runs) six balls later became the victim of Rajeshwari Gaikwad. Gaikwad also dismissed Harleen Deol for four before the end of the powerplay.

After the early jitters, however, Dayalan Hemlata and Ashley Gardner took control of the Giants’ innings. It took some time for Gardner to get noticed but Hemlata batted briskly from the start and brought up her fifty in 30 balls.

Hemlata and Gardner put together a huge partnership for the fourth wicket to put the Giants in a strong position.

This partnership could have cost the Warriors in the last over but Parshvi Chopra brought relief to her team by dismissing both the batsmen. Thanks to this partnership, however, the Giants added 50 runs in the last five overs to post a score of 178/6.

For Warriors, Parshvi took two wickets for 29 runs in four overs, while Gaikwad took two wickets for 39 runs in four overs. Anjali and Eccleston got one wicket each.