Vadodara, Jan 22 (IANS) Gujarat Giants (GG) climbed from the bottom of the points table to second place in the 2026 Women’s Premier League (WPL) after securing a comfortable 45-run victory over UP Warriorz (UPW) at the BCA Stadium in Kotambi in Vadodara on Thursday.

New Zealand’s veteran all-rounder Sophie Devine starred with an unbeaten 42-ball fifty to take GG to 153/8 on a slow pitch. Left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad marked her return to the playing eleven with a spell of 3-16 while Sophie took two wickets as UPW lost wickets in a heap to be bowled out for 108 in 17.3 overs, as GG ended their three-match losing streak.

UP Warriorz innings began on a false note as Kiran Navgire was stumped for a duck off a wide ball – she missed a flick off Renuka Singh Thakur and ricocheted off keeper Beth Mooney’s pads to hit the stumps. Phoebe Litchfield pulled Renuka for four, before Meg Lanning unfurled a late cut for four and drove off Kashvee Gautam for boundaries.

With some extras coming in, Phoebe continued to pick boundaries with some effortless lofting. But Kashvee struck a big blow by casting Meg for 14 – the ball deflected off her thigh pad to hit the stumps, as UPW reached 46/2 at the end of power-play.

But shortly after, UPW suffered twin setbacks in quick succession as Phoebe fell for 32 off 27 balls – attempting a reverse sweep, she picked out short third off Ashleigh Gardner. Soon after, Renuka struck as Harleen Deol, who was nearly trapped lbw by the pacer, tried to loft over long-on but mistimed her stroke, allowing Ashleigh to run in and complete a straightforward catch.

Rajeshwari, coming in place of Tanuja Kanwer, struck a decisive blow in her first over by trapping a sweeping Deepti Sharma lbw for just four. UPW’s slide continued as Rajeshwari fired one flat and wide outside off to have Shweta Sehrawat stumped for just three, while having Asha Sobhana Joy holing out in the deep.

From there, it was all GG’s way – Sophie Ecclestone’s stay ended tamely as she chipped a low full-toss straight back to Sophie Devine, while Shikha Pandey was run out in the pursuit of a second run. GG capped off a dominant performance when Sophie rattled Kranti Gaud’s stumps and wrapped up the contest in emphatic fashion.

Brief Scores: Gujarat Giants 153/8 in 20 overs (Sophie Devine 50 not out, Beth Mooney 38; Kranti Gaud 2-18, Sophie Ecclestone 2-22) beat UP Warriorz 108 all out in 17.3 overs (Phoebe Litchfield 32, Chloe Tryon 30 not out; Rajeshwari Gayakwad 3-16, Sophie Devine 2-16) by 45 runs

–IANS

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