GG vs UPW, WPL Highlights: Gujarat Giants demolish UP Warriorz with 45-run win

Sophie Devine to Phoebe Litchfield, Fuller and on middle, attacking the stumps, Phoebe Litchfield blocks it out down the pitch.

Kashvee Gautam to Harleen Deol, Angled in, on a back of a length, on middle. Deol defends it off the back foot.

Both the openers are gone in an unusual fashion. Harleen Deol comes out to the middle now.

Kashvee Gautam to Meg Lanning, OUT! BOWLED! An unfortunate way to get out. Meg Lanning is gutted. Angled into the right-hander, on a back of a length, Lanning swivels for the pull but the ball skids through to go under the bat. It hits her thigh pad and then the pad before dropping towards the ground but on the way down, it clips the back of the shin and trickles onto the stumps. The Giants are jubilant. The Warriorz are now 2 down for 39, chasing 154.

Kashvee Gautam to Meg Lanning, FOUR! All class from Lanning! A bit too full from Gautam, on off, Meg leans on and creams the drive. Anushka Sharma sprints to her right from deep backward point but stands no chance.

Kashvee Gautam to Meg Lanning, Wide! Sprayed down leg, Meg fails to tickle it away.

Kashvee Gautam to Phoebe Litchfield, Fuller and on off, Litchfield strokes it through covers for a run.

Kashvee Gautam to Phoebe Litchfield, FOUR! Clever, very clever! On a back of a length, on middle. Litchfield walks across the stumps and scoops it fine of short fine leg for a four.

Kashvee Gautam to Meg Lanning, In the channel, on a length, Meg cuts it late to deep backward point for a single.

Sophie Devine to Meg Lanning, Into the surface, on middle, Lanning jabs it through mid-wicket and keeps the strike with a single.

Sophie Devine to Phoebe Litchfield, Miscued but safe! Devine pushes the length up, on off and middle. Litchfield puts her head down and has a swing across the line. Gets a top edge that goes in the air towards deep cover. Anushka Sharma runs in off the ropes and realises that she is not going to get there. She hangs back and collects it on the bounce. They cross.

Sophie Devine to Phoebe Litchfield, Around middle and leg, on a good length, Phoebe takes a couple of steps down the track but is beaten on the flick and she wears it on the thigh pad.

Sophie Devine to Meg Lanning, This is on a hard length, outside off, Meg shapes up for the cut. Ends up chopping it through point for a single.

Sophie Devine to Meg Lanning, Full and attacking the front pad, Lanning brings her bat out in front to keep it out.

Sophie Devine to Phoebe Litchfield, On a short of a length, on off, Litchfield punches it wide of cover and picks up a single.

Renuka Singh Thakur to Phoebe Litchfield, Swinging away, on a good length, Phoebe slaps it to deep point for one.

Renuka Singh Thakur to Meg Lanning, Excellent stop! Full and outside off, Lanning carves it behind square. Anushka Sharma sprints and dives to her left in the deep to prevent the boundary. Just a single.

Renuka Singh Thakur to Phoebe Litchfield, Fuller and on off, Phoebe pats it wide of cover for a single.

Renuka Singh Thakur to Phoebe Litchfield, Hurls it on a back of a length, on middle, Litchfield hangs back to defend.

Renuka Singh Thakur to Phoebe Litchfield, FOUR! Thumped down the ground! Renuka pitches it up in search of swing, on off, Litchfield leans on and swings through the line. She pumps it back over the bowler's head for a boundary.

Renuka Singh Thakur to Phoebe Litchfield, On a short of a length, on off, Phoebe stabs it down on the off side.

Kashvee Gautam to Phoebe Litchfield, Leg bye! On the pads again, on a length, Phoebe fails to glance it away. A leg bye is taken as the ball goes behind off the pads.

Kashvee Gautam to Phoebe Litchfield, Three wides! Gautam attempts the outswinger again but it starts well outside the leg stump and it does not move at all. Phoebe has a swing at it but misses. Beth Mooney standing up to the stumps, gets a glove on it but it goes wide of short fine leg for a couple of more runs.

Kashvee Gautam to Phoebe Litchfield, Drags the length back, shaping away at 105.1 kph, Litchfield pokes at it and is beaten on the outside edge.

Kashvee Gautam to Meg Lanning, Pitched up, on off, firmly driven to deep point for a single.

Kashvee Gautam to Meg Lanning, FOUR! Nicely done! Fractionally wide, on a back of a length, Lanning cuts it late and beats the deep backward point fielder in the deep to her left for a four.

Kashvee Gautam to Phoebe Litchfield, On off, on a short of a length, Phoebe dabs it through point and turns the strike over.

Kashvee Gautam to Phoebe Litchfield, Beats the bat straight away! Moving away in the air, on a length, Litchfield takes a couple of steps down the track and presents a straight bat for the block but is well beaten.

Kashvee Gautam to bowl from the other end.

Renuka Singh Thakur to Phoebe Litchfield, On a short of a length, on off, Litchfield taps it wide of cover for a single.

Renuka Singh Thakur to Phoebe Litchfield, Nearly dragged it on! Shaping away, on a good length, Phoebe drives away from her body. Gets an inside edge that sneaks past the leg stump and rolls away.

Renuka Singh Thakur to Phoebe Litchfield, FOUR! Gets off the mark in style! Good length and around leg, Phoebe Litchfield picks it off her hips and flicks it away to the deep square leg fence for a boundary.

Renuka Singh Thakur to Phoebe Litchfield, Back of a length and around off, Phoebe Litchfield stabs it out to extra cover.

Phoebe Litchfield walks out to bat at number 3.

Is that out? Beth Mooney looks very confident here that Kiran Navgire is out of her crease. Oh, the replay shows that she has stepped out just at the wrong time. Very unlucky dismissal for her.

Renuka Singh Thakur to Kiran Navgire, OUT! STUMPED! That is one of the unluckiest ways to get out. Nothing seems to be going right for Kiran Navgire this season, and she has to go back without troubling the scorers. Renuka Singh Thakur bowls this full but angling down the leg side. Navgire looks clip it away but misses and her head falls over. She loses her balance and steps out of the crease. The ball hits the keeper, Beth Mooney's left pad, deflects onto her right boot and rolls onto the stumps. The replay shows that Navgire is out of her crease when the stumps are broken. She cannot believe her luck but has to make the walk to the hut. UP Warriorz are 2/1, chasing 154 runs.

Renuka Singh Thakur to Kiran Navgire, Good length and on middle, shaping in a bit. Kiran Navgire stays back to play at it but gets an inside edge towards short fine leg.

Renuka Singh Thakur to Meg Lanning, UP Warriorz are underway in the chase! Renuka Singh Thakur starts with a back-of-a-length delivery, outside off. Meg Lanning cuts it towards deep point for a single and gets off the mark.

We are back for the chase! The players are already out in the middle now. Meg Lanning and Kiran Navgire are the two openers for UP Warriorz. Renuka Singh Thakur to start proceedings with the ball. Also, Beth Mooney is up to the stumps. Here we go...

... THE RUN CHASE ...

Kranti Gaud set the tone early with a couple of wickets, and Meg Lanning backed her by bowling four straight overs at the start, as she was almost unplayable, finishing with impressive figures of 2/18. The spinners then tightened the screws in the middle overs, with Deepti Sharma removing the big wicket of Gardner, although she did not complete her spell. Sophie Ecclestone picked up a couple while staying economical, and Chloe Tryon chipped in as well. However, Shikha Pandey had an off day, conceding over 50 runs in her four overs, and whether that proves costly or not remains to be seen. Join us in a bit for the second essay.

Sophie Ecclestone is in for a chat. She says that they spent a long time in the middle, around an hour and 40 minutes, and a lot happened during that time. She feels they did well to restrict the Giants to 153 and backs her batters to get the job done in the chase. Ecclestone adds that the pitch stayed quite low, and she felt bowling into the wicket was the way to go. She notes that the dew has set in and conditions are now quite wet, which could make things harder for the bowlers in the second innings.

However, Sophie Devine lived a charmed life, with fielders putting down chances, a missed run-out, and even being dismissed off a No Ball. She made full use of those reprieves, scoring an unbeaten half-century to at least give her bowlers something to defend. But it will not be easy with the dewy conditions, and they will have to make early inroads to put pressure on UPW.

Despite losing Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Anushka Sharma for identical scores, both once again failing to make the most of their starts, Beth Mooney held the innings together. She registered her best score of the season with a 38 off 34, but would have liked to push on further. The bigger issue for them was the lack of meaningful partnerships, as wickets kept falling at regular intervals, including skipper Ashleigh Gardner, who failed to make an impact, which hurt them badly.

Sophie Devine’s late burst has pushed Gujarat Giants past the 150 mark, with a 16-run final over that could prove crucial in swinging the momentum their way. That said, UP Warriorz would probably be happy with this total if asked at the toss, especially after a solid all-round bowling effort. With the dew expected to play a role, they will still fancy their chances in the chase.

Shikha Pandey to Sophie Devine, FIFTY FOR DEVINE! Shikha hurls in a low full toss, outside off. Sophie smears it off the inner half to deep mid-wicket, where Phoebe Litchfield moves to her right in the deep and mops it up. The throw goes to the batting end and Devine comes charging back for the second. The keeper, Shweta Sehrawat, collects the throw on the bounce and flicks it onto the stumps. The third umpire is called into action but Sophie is in. A gem of a knock from the veteran all-rounder and she has helped the Giants reach 153.

Shikha Pandey to Sophie Devine, SIX! Out of here! Seeing Devine make the shuffle, Pandey wants to attack the stumps this time with a full ball. Sophie does not miss out as she swats it over long leg for a biggie.

Happy Kumari comes out to the middle now.

Shikha Pandey to Sophie Devine, OUT! RENUKA SINGH THAKUR IS RUN OUT! Full and on off, Sophie smacks it down the ground. Kiran Navgire gets around to her right at long off, but fumbles and Devine was always going to come back for the second run to keep the strike. Navgire collects the ball and fires it on the bounce at the bowling end. Pandey gets behind the stumps, collects the ball and breaks the stumps with Renuka well short.

Shikha Pandey to Sophie Devine, SIX! Sophie Devine makes the most of the Free Hit! Devine is standing outside the off stump again and Pandey errs in length this time. She is unable to get the yorker in and dishes out right in the slot, Sophie clears the front leg and plunders it over deep mid-wicket for a biggie.