UP Warriorz Vs Gujarat Giants, WPL 2024: Grace Harris's Unbeaten Knock Helps UPW Beat GGT By 6 Wickets - As It Happened

UP Warriorz and Gujarat Giants are set to face off for the first time in this Women's Premier League 2024 season. The Beth Mooney-led side is still in search of their first win of the season after being defeated in the first two matches. UP Warriorz, on the other hand, have registered their first win in the last match against Mumbai Indians. Both teams have an Australian leading the team - Alyssa Healy for UP Warriorz and Beth Mooney for Gujarat Giants. Kiran Navgire, for UPW, had a great game against Mumbai on Wednesday. She was promoted up in the batting order and she delivered with a promising half-century. Vrinda Dinesh and Harleen Deol would be under the lens of team management. Phoebe Litchfield, Kathryn Bryce and Ashleigh Gardner's form could be essential for Gujarat Giants' victory on Friday. Follow the live cricket scores and updates of the GGT-W Vs UPW-W match in WPL 2024 here (Streaming | Full Coverage | Schedule And Points Table)

UP Warriorz: Alyssa Healy(w/c), Kiran Navgire, Tahlia McGrath, Grace Harris, Deepti Sharma, Vrinda Dinesh, Shweta Sehrawat, Poonam Khemnar, Sophie Ecclestone, Anjali Sarvani, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Saima Thakor, Laxmi Yadav, Parshavi Chopra, Soppadhandi Yashasri, Chamari Athapaththu, Danielle Wyatt, Gouher Sultana

Gujarat Giants: Harleen Deol, Beth Mooney(w/c), Phoebe Litchfield, Veda Krishnamurthy, Ashleigh Gardner, Dayalan Hemalatha, Kathryn Bryce, Sneh Rana, Tanuja Kanwar, Lea Tahuhu, Meghna Singh, Laura Wolvaardt, Tarannum Pathan, Mannat Kashyap, Shabnam Md Shakil, Sayali Satghare, Priya Mishra, Trisha Poojitha

UP Warriorz have won the toss and have opted to field

Teams:

Gujarat Giants (Playing XI): Harleen Deol, Beth Mooney(w/c), Phoebe Litchfield, Laura Wolvaardt, Ashleigh Gardner, Dayalan Hemalatha, Kathryn Bryce, Sneh Rana, Tanuja Kanwar, Mannat Kashyap, Meghna Singh

UP Warriorz (Playing XI): Alyssa Healy(w/c), Kiran Navgire, Chamari Athapaththu, Grace Harris, Deepti Sharma, Saima Thakor, Shweta Sehrawat, Poonam Khemnar, Sophie Ecclestone, Anjali Sarvani, Rajeshwari Gayakwad

There is a little grass on the pitch. The square boundaries are 48 metres and 61 metres. The air is getting cooler and that might play a role in the later part of the game.

Gujarat Giants opened the batting with captain Beth Mooney and Laura Wolvaardt. Chamari Athapaththu opened the bowling attack and conceded a leg byes four on the first delivery. She gave six runs off the first over.

GGT - 6/0 (1)

This is a massive wicket for UP. The first partnership has been broken. Mooney comes down the track, and Ecclestone wisely draws the length back; the loft does not come off the middle, and Mooney smashes it to mid-off. Harris makes no mistakes this time.

GGT - 41/1 (6)

The set batter Wolvaardt is out. Flighted near to off, Wolvaardt comes down the track, shuts the bat face to move it into the leg-side, gets a leading edge, and the ball balloons to mid-off, making an easy catch for Chamari.

GGT - 62/2 (10)

Deol seemed eager to go. Her strike rate was low, and she couldn't find the boundaries. So she charges down and slogs against the turn, resulting in a heavy leading edge and the ball flies to the short third. Anjali completed a nice catch. Deol just lowered her head and didn't look at the ball after making the connection.

GGT - 83/3 (13)

Deepti Sharma was hit for three successive fours by Ashleigh Gardner and then Phoebe Litchfield finished the over with a thumping six. 19 runs came off the over.

GGT - 135/3 (18)

UP Warriorz's bowlers made a fantastic comeback in the last two overs after Deepti Sharma's over and conceded just seven runs and also dismissed the set batters. Litchfield got run out and Gardner holed out in Ecclestone's over. Chamari Athapaththu bowled a brilliant final over. Now, UP Warriorz need 143 runs to win this match.

GGT - 142/5 (20)

Brief Score: GGT - 142/5 (20)

Phoebe Litchfield - 35 (26), Ashleigh Gardner - 30 (17) | Sophie Ecclestone: (4-0-20-3)

Alyssa Healy and Kiran Navgire opened the batting for UP Warriorz with Meghana Singh opening the attack in bowling. She conceded just seven runs in the first over.

UPW - 7/0 (1)

Nice bowling. Throws it full and wide outside off, out of Kiran Navgire's reach, then goes for the loft and slices it straight up. A dolly for the reverse point. Tanuja Kanwar got a wicket in her first over.

UPW - 46/1 (5)

Straight to deep, rearward square leg. Was tossed up on the stumps, Chamari Athapaththu slog sweeps, but couldn't have picked Wolvaardt any better.

UPW - 86/3 (9)

The pressure was mounting and Shweta Sehrawat couldn't hold onto it. She was bowled on a full delivery that took her leg stump. Alyssa Healy and Meghna are celebrating.

UPW - 90/4 (11)

Grace Harris slammed a quickfire 60 off 33 balls to help UP Warriorz secure an easy victory against Gujarat Giants. Deepti Sharma also supported her inning and remained unbeaten till the win.

UPW - 143/4 (15.4)

Phoebe and Ash worked well together in the middle, helping us reach an acceptable total. We missed a few in the end, but that's fine. [About Wolvaardt] She was fantastic; it was lovely to see her strike the ball and time it well. We've seen with other teams that if we have a set hitter, you can get 10s and 11s at the back end; that's a goal for us, someone who can score a 50 or a 60 and bat deep. We have some extremely good players on our team, and we must keep with them. Meghna and TK both bowled brilliantly during the powerplay today.

Grace Harris making cricket look simple at the moment. She batted really well tonight, and she deserves full praise. We probably handed them a couple too many at the end, but we were comfortable chasing that down. [on if there was a scheme to bring Ecclestone back at Wolvaardt] Not really. Tonight's 19 overs of spin proved plenty. Our middle order is now doing well, and it is up to me and Kirry to come out there and do our part in the powerplay. It's a well-balanced team, and we have some great bench players. We have RCB on Monday night here; we should have won the first game and are looking forward to playing them again.

One ball at a time. As I've gotten older, I've learned to regulate my emotions, get back to basics, and keep my eye on the ball. [on whether she ended up not out and losing in a chase] Not many. It's rare. I'm enjoying myself here at UPW. I'm enjoying my place during the sequence. I'm loving it, and I adore India. Tonight I bowled a few too many slot balls and am pleased with how it turned out. But I like how it's going and am working on it. I aim to take advantage of every chance to bowl. Still a work in progress, though.

UP Warriorz beat Gujarat Giants by six wickets as GGT's search for maiden victory of this season continues. Grace Harris displayed some fireworks to finish the game early. We will be taking your leave. We will be back with tomorrow's action in WPL 2024. Goodnight and take care. Farewell!