WPL 2026: Ashleigh Gardner stars as Gujarat Giants beat Meg Lannings UP Warriorz in thriller
Gujarat Giants defeated UP Warriorz by 10 runs in the second match of the Women's Premier League in Navi Mumbai on January 10.
New Delhi: Captain Ashleigh Gardner and Georgia Wareham delivered a brilliant all-round performance as Gujarat Giants beat UP Warriorz by 10 runs in the second match of the Women's Premier League in Navi Mumbai on Saturday, January 10. Phoebe Litchfield scored 78 runs off 40 balls for the Warriorz in the run chase, but the Giants managed to win by the narrowest margin.
Batting first, the Giants put on their highest-ever total in the history of the WPL, even though their overseas openers departed cheaply in the PowerPlay. Beth Mooney only managed to score 13 runs off 12 balls, but Sophie Devine smashed boundaries at will before playing a poor shot. She scored 28 runs off 20 balls with the help of five boundaries and two maximums.
The Warriorz hoped to make a comeback after removing both openers, but the Giants took complete control of the game. Anushka Sharma batted well on her WPL debut, forging a 103-run partnership for the third wicket to put the Warriorz bowling attack under pressure.
Anushka looked a bit nervous at the start, but she batted well along with the Australian all-rounder. Gardner smashed 65 runs off 41 balls, including six boundaries and three maximums, while Anushka scored 44 runs off 30 balls. Georgia Wareham and Bharti Fulmali played explosive cameos in the end as the Giants posted a 208-run target.
Phoebe Litchfield's fiery knock goes in vain
UP Warriorz got off to a poor start as Renuka Thakur removed Kiran Navigire for 1 run in the very first over. Skipper Meg Lanning hit a few boundaries but was held back by a lot of dot deliveries. Harleen Deol (0) and Deepti Sharma (1) failed to contribute with the bat, but Litchfield forged a 69-run partnership with Shweta Sehrawat.
Sehrawat smashed two maximums and a boundary in her first six deliveries, while Litchfield managed to hit a 24-ball half-century. She then took on Wareham for consecutive maximums as the match started to shift towards the Warriorz. Gayakwad removed Sehrawat after the strategic timeout. The Warriorz needed 65 runs from the last five overs with Litchfield and Dottin out in the middle.
But their hopes ended when Litchfield was removed by Devine, followed by a brilliant over from Wareham. Gardner dismissed Dottin for 12 runs. Asha Sobhana played an entertaining knock, but the Giants managed to secure the victory.