WPL 2023: Gujarat Giants keep playoff hopes alive with nail-biting win; Gardner, Wolvaardt impress with bat

Basement girls Gujarat Giants (GG) have lifted themselves from the bottom of the table in the ongoing Women’s Premier League (WPL) after they Delhi Capitals (DC) by 11 runs on Thursday, March 16. Stellar show with bat from Laura Wolvaardt and Ashleigh Gardner saw the Giants set 148-run target for DC, which proved to be too as they prevailed for their second win of the campaign.

Chasing 148, DC lost wickets at regular intervals as only four batters got in double figures while GG bowlers were in full swing. Marizanne Kapp’s run out was the game-changing moment in the contest as she departed for 36 off 29. With no big partnerships in the innings, Arundhati Reddy’s 25-run knock also went in vein as DC ended on the losing side.

Kim Garth, Tanuja Kanwar and Ashleigh Gardner ended with two wickets each while Sneh Rana and Harleen Deol ended with one wicket each.

Blistering fifties from Ashleigh Gardner and Laura Wolvaardt guided Gujarat Giants (GG) to 147/4 against Delhi Capitals (DC) in their Women’s Premier League (WPL) match at Brabourne Stadium here on Thursday.

Gardner scored an unbeaten 51 of 33 deliveries while Wolvaardt played a superb knock of 57 runs for Gujarat Giants. For Delhi Capitals, Jess Jonassen bagged two while Marizanne Kapp and Arundhati Reddy scalped one wicket each. Opting to bowl first, Delhi Capitals got off to a fine start as Marizanne Kapp provided her team with the wicket of Sophia Dunkley in the first over of the innings.

After an early blow, Harleen Deol and Laura Wolvaardt took charge as they gathered singles while slamming boundaries at regular intervals. In the 10th over of the game, Jess Jonassen gave Gujarat another blow as she dismissed well-set batter Harleen Deol for 31 runs.

The right-handed batter Ashleigh Gardner then came out to bat. The Gujarat batters rotated the strike, not allowing the Delhi bowlers to settle down while whacking the loose balls.

DC will next face undefeated Mumbai Indians on Monday at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy while GG take on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Saturday at the Brabourne Stadium in a do-or-die contest.

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