A late fightback in the batting department went in vain as Gujarat Giants succumbed to a 10-wicket defeat against Delhi Capitals in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2023 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Saturday, March 11.
The Giants rode on Kim Garth’s resilient knock of 32 runs off 37 balls along with contributions from Georgia Wareham (22) and Harleen Deol (20) to post 105/9 in their 20 overs.
Later, the Giants bowlers experienced a tough night as DC openers Shafali Verma (76 not out) and Meg Lanning (21 not out) forged a match-winning 107-run stand to guide the Capitals to their third victory in the WPL.
Earlier, Giants’ captain Sneh Rana won the toss and elected to bat first. They made two changes, bringing in debutant Laura Wolvaardt and Georgia Wareham in place of Sophia Dunkley and Annabel Sutherland.
On the other hand, top-order batter Laura Harris replaced Alice Capsey in the Capitals’ playing XI.
The Giants got off to a jittery start as opener Sabbhineni Meghana (0) was cleaned up by Marizanne Kapp in the second ball of the first over.
South African right-arm pacer Kapp soon dismissed Wolvaardt (1) and Ashleigh Gardner (0) in back-to-back deliveries in her second over to put massive pressure on the Giants’ batting line-up.
The Giants later suffered another blow as Indian fast bowler Shikha Pandey removed Dayalan Hemalatha for 5.
Reeling at 18/4 in 3.3 overs, Wareham joined Harleen Deol at the crease. The two batters added 10 runs for the fifth wicket before Kapp trapped in-form Harleen (20) in front of the stumps.
Kapp soon registered her maiden five-wicket haul in the WPL as she cleaned up wicketkeeper-batter Sushma Verma (2).
Having lost six wickets for 33 runs, Kim Garth joined Wareham in the middle. The duo showed some resistance as they added a run-a-ball 33 for the seventh wicket.
However, Wareham was later bowled by Capitals’ left-arm spinner Radha Yadav for 22.
Following Wareham’s dismissal, Tanuja Kanwer walked into bat. Kanwer and Garth stitched an 18-run stand before Kanwer (13) was dismissed by Pandey.
While the Giants later lost skipper Rana for 2, Garth’s unbeaten 33 runs helped them post a fighting total of 105/9.
Defending 106, the Giants made a challenging start as DC openers Shafali Verma and Meg Lanning added 50 runs in just 3.5 overs.
Shafali continued her good form as she notched up her fifty off just 19 balls. Shafali and skipper Lanning played some attacking cricket to chase down the target in 7.1 overs.
Having succumbed to their third defeat, the Giants are currently placed fourth in the WPL standings with two points from four matches.
The Giants will need to quickly bounce back against Mumbai Indians at the Brabourne Stadium on Tuesday, March 14.
