Gujarat Giants Vs UP Warriorz, WPL 2024: Despite Deepti Sharma's Heroics GGT Beat UPW By 8 Runs - As It Happened

Welcome to the live coverage of match no. 18 of the Women's Premier League 2024 between Gujarat Giants and UP Warriorz being played at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. The stage is set for the epic encounter between the teams that are at the bottom of the points table. They clash to remain alive in the contention for playoffs. The defeat in today's match will eliminate the losing team from the WPL 2024. This is the last group-stage fixture for the Alyssa Healy-led side and they will try to win it with a big margin to better their net run rate. Follow the live cricket scores and updates of the GGT Vs UPW match here. (Streaming | Full Coverage | Schedule And Points Table)

Gujarat Giants have won the toss and have opted to bat

Teams:

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

Gujarat Giants (Playing XI): Laura Wolvaardt, Beth Mooney(w/c), Phoebe Litchfield, Dayalan Hemalatha, Ashleigh Gardner, Bharati Fulmali, Kathryn Bryce, Mannat Kashyap, Tanuja Kanwar, Meghna Singh, Shabnam Md Shakil

Beth Mooney | GGT Captain: We're going to bat. Batting first has worked well for us in terms of scoring runs. We have a great possibility to upset a couple of opponents. One change for us. Mannat Kashyap fills in for Sneh Rana.

Alyssa Healy | UPW Captain: We will start with the ball and see if we can finish the job. We've had a wonderful few days off. We need a win to keep the tournament alive, and maybe we can achieve that first. Two changes for us. Tahlia McGrath is out, while Chamari Athapaththu is in. Saima Thakor makes room for Anjali Sarvani.

Beth Mooney and Laura Wolvaardt opened the batting for Gujarat Giants with Chamari Athapaththu bowling the first over for UPW. Four runs were conceded in the first over.

GGT - 4/0 (1)

Saima Thakor came to bowl the second over of her spell and was smashed for three boundaries by Laura Wolvaardt in the over. She gave 13 runs in the over.

GGT - 34/0 (4)

Deepti Sharma was introduced into the attack in the seventh over and she bowled an economical 4-run over.

GGT - 57/0 (7)

The bowler is astute, and the keeper is exceptional. This is a jumbled seam-length delivery that has drifted away, not the offie. Hemalatha felt she could take the cut shot, but she was drawn into it as the ball went away in the air. She pursued, only to be cut off by Healy with a sharp catch. Chamari Athapaththu winks at Healy, suggesting, "That was smart, wasn't it?" It's two wickets in five balls now.

GGT - 66/2 (9)

That's in the air, straight to long-on. With Mooney struggling, the burden was on Litchfield to pick up the pace. This was a shortish ball that hurried Litchfield's pull stroke; she ended up hitting it straighter than she intended, and it's now three wickets for 13 runs. The Giants are in some danger.

GGT - 74/3 (11)

Oh, this is an incredible expression of emotion. Gardner throws her head back in surprise because she looks so lovely. Gardner makes another short toss and pulls flat, as Deepti covers yards to her right at deep backward square, dives, and pouches it cleanly.

GGT - 102/4 (14)

Sophie Ecclestone came to bowl the final over of the innings and Beth Mooney smashed five boundaries in her over to take Gujarat Giants to a respectable total of 152 runs.

GGT - 152/8 (20)

Brief Score: GGT - 152/8 (20)

Beth Mooney - 74 (52), Laura Wolvaardt - 43 (30) | Sophie Ecclestone: (4-0-38-3)

Shabnam Md Shakil started with the first over for Gujarat Giants and Alyssa Healy along with Kiran Navgire opened the batting for UP Warriorz. She dismissed Healy on the third delivery and Chamari Athapaththu on the last delivery to finish the over with two wickets.

UPW - 4/2 (1)

Deepti Sharma and Shweta Sehrawat are trying to rebuild the innings after Shakil's early bows and poor batting from the UPW top-order.

UPW - 21/4 (5)

Deepti Sharma is there at the crease with Poonam Khemnar after Shabnam Md Shakil dismissed another batter - Shweta Sehrawat to finish her spell with the figures of 4-0-11-3.

UPW - 52/5 (10)

Deepti Sharma completed her consecutive fifty with a boundary on the fifth delivery of Tanuja Kanwar's over. Poonam Khemnar is supporting her well. Now, 67 runs still needed in 30 balls.

UPW - 86/5 (15)

Deepti Sharma played a brilliant knock but still, GGT was left 8-run short of the target. In the final over, 26 runs were required and Deepti hit two sixes in Meghna's over to make the equation 10 needed off 2. Meghna kept her cool and gave just two runs to win the game for Gujarat Giants.

UPW - 144/5 (20)

Deepti delivered a terrific knock to bring us close. We believed that if we went deep, we might win, but tonight's performance was disappointing. I probably attempted to take it on too early, and it didn't pay off tonight. Reflect on that, go forward, and hopefully improve. Now we are in the hands of a few of other clubs, and our season has not been consistent enough. There are so many excellent players on our squad who have raised their hands, which is wonderful. Just uneven (in her reflections on the season). The top two sides have played really well. We'll learn from it and do better next year.

Following the previous few games, we remained focused on the issue and provided entertainment for the spectators. It's a little hectic, but enjoyable for the fans. We allowed them back into the game; 150 was not a terrific total, but it was acceptable if we bowled effectively, and Shabnam was magnificent up front. I don't know much about bowling, but I admire her energy and believe she has a promising future, so I decided to bowl her 4 straight away. Max is a happy coach, and I am pleased as a skipper. Hopefully, Delhi is a good squad, and I am confident it will be another close game.

I'm incredibly happy. Perform on such a platform. I learned a lot from my U-19 experience, which I utilised here. Last year, I chatted a lot with Mushi and Mithali ma'am, which helped. I adore bowling with the new ball. I was getting lifted up by the new ball and enjoying it. The fundamental goal was to hit the top of the off-stump, which I did. This is the top of my list because it is my first award on such a prestigious stage.

Gujarat Giants came out victorious despite Deepti Sharma's fightback in match 18 of the Women's Premier League 2024. No team has been disqualified from the playoff race and two matches are remaining. Tomorrow, the picture might be clear. Until then, it's a goodbye from our side. Goodnight!