Navi Mumbai, Jan 10 (IANS) A blistering 103-run partnership between captain Ashleigh Gardner and debutant Anushka Sharma powered Gujarat Giants to a commanding total of 207/4 in 20 overs against UP Warriorz in the second match of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Saturday.

Asked to bat after losing the toss, Gujarat Giants openers Sophie Devine and Beth Mooney struggled in the first over, with Kranti Gaud bowling a tight length to the opponents. Devine finally got the momentum in the next over, where she scored 14 runs off Shikha Pandey’s bowling. She continued her attack in the next three overs as the Warriorz kept changing the bowlers.

Meg Lanning’s team finally got their first breakthrough in the fifth over, with Mooney (13) completely missing Sophie Ecclestone’s delivery, which hit the top of the off stump. Her partner Devine (38) also fell in the final over of the Power-play when she was caught at midwicket by Phoebe Litchfield off Shikha Pandey’s cross-seam delivery.

Batting at number three in her first match, Anushka did not let the momentum shift after the two wickets, hammering a boundary towards square-leg on her fourth ball. The young batter then struck three more fours and crossed the 30-run mark in just 20 balls. The Madhya Pradesh batter also rotated the strike consistently with captain Gardner to keep the scoreboard moving.

Anushka’s innings ended on the first ball of the 16th over when she lofted a pitched-up delivery from Deandra Dottin, but the shot lacked power and went straight into the hands of Harleen Deol at long on. She narrowly missed a well-deserved half-century, scoring 44 runs off 30 balls.

Captain Gardner started her innings at a measured pace, focusing on building a partnership with the young debutant. She changed gears in the 13th over by striking three fours off four balls from Kranti Gaud. The 28-year-old then smashed four sixes and one boundary in her next eight balls to complete her first fifty of the season in 31 deliveries.

The Warriorz finally managed to dismiss Gardner in the 18th over when she was bowled by Sophie Ecclestone’s tossed-up delivery on leg stump that drifted into the right-hander. Gardner scored 65 runs off 41 balls, an innings that included four boundaries and three sixes.

Georgia Wareham and Bharti Fulmali ensured Gujarat finished on a high note, adding 34 runs in the final two overs. Wareham struck at a rate of 270, remaining unbeaten on 27 off just 10 balls, while Bharti scored 14 runs off seven deliveries.

For Warriorz, Ecclestone was the most successful bowler with two wickets to her name, followed by Shikha Pandey and Deandra Dottin, who took one each.

Brief scores:

Gujarat Giants 207/4 in 20 overs (Ashleigh Gardner 65, Anushka Sharma 44, Sophie Devine 38, Georgia Wareham 27 not out; Sophie Ecclestone 2-32) against UP Warriorz

–IANS

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