Sports

WPL 2025: Gujarat Giants’ All-round Performance Leads to 81-run Victory Over UP Warriorz

Published

11 months ago

March 5, 2025

The Gujarat Giants delivered a commanding performance, clinching an 81-run victory over the UP Warriorz in Match 15 of the 2025 Women’s Premier League (WPL) at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium on Monday. This win marked the Giants as only the second team this season to successfully defend a total by such a margin.

Powered by Beth Mooney’s impressive unbeaten 96, the Giants posted a formidable total of 186/5. Their bowlers then took charge, ensuring that the total was more than enough to secure victory. The UP Warriorz faltered early in their run chase, losing four wickets within the power-play as Deandra Dottin, Kashvee Gautam, and Meghna Singh struck in quick succession. This left the UPW reeling at 29/4, unable to gain any real momentum.

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Grace Harris briefly held the fort, keeping the innings afloat until the 10th over, while Chinelle Henry attempted a brisk counter-attack. However, the increasing required run rate became too much to manage.

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Tanuja Kanwer and Priya Mishra effectively restricted the flow of runs during the middle overs, continuing the collapse as Uma Chetry, Gouher Sultana, and Sophie Ecclestone fell cheaply. The UP Warriorz were ultimately bowled out for just 105, delivering a resounding win for the Gujarat Giants, who now sit atop the points table and have reignited their playoff aspirations.

The early breakthroughs set a strong tone for the innings, with Deandra Dottin making an impact by dismissing Kiran Navgire for a golden duck followed by Georgia Voll’s three-ball duck courtesy of a magnificent delivery that rattled the stumps.

Kashvee Gautam maintained the pressure, bowling out Vrinda Dinesh (1) with a sharp inswinger, leaving UPW staggering at 14/3. Although Grace Harris survived an initial LBW appeal, she tried to stabilize the innings with some well-timed boundaries. However, Meghna Singh struck soon after, sending captain Deepti Sharma (6) back to the pavilion with an edge caught behind by Mooney.

Attempts by Shweta Sehrawat (5) and Uma Chetry (17) to rebuild the innings were thwarted by the Giants’ spin attack, spearheaded by Priya Mishra and Ashleigh Gardner. Sehrawat’s struggle came to an end when she skied a catch to Phoebe Litchfield, and as runs dried up, Harris attempted to accelerate the scoring but was trapped LBW by Tanuja Kanwer for 25 off 30 balls, leaving UPW at 69/6.

Chinelle Henry (28 off 14 balls) provided a spark with a flurry of boundaries, yet her effort was short-lived as she was dismissed by Kanwer, with Litchfield taking her third catch of the match. The increasing pressure from the disciplined Gujarat Giants’ attack took its toll, leaving UPW in dire straits.

Sophie Ecclestone managed to hit a powerful six over deep mid-wicket, pushing UPW past 100. However, runs proved difficult to accumulate, with Priya Mishra completing her spell without a wicket. Kashvee Gautam returned to further diminish UPW’s hopes by dismissing Uma Chetry for 17, caught in the field. The collapse intensified when Gouher Sultana departed for a golden duck, edging the very next delivery behind to Mooney.

Even though Gautam narrowly missed out on a hat-trick, Tanuja Kanwer soon removed Ecclestone, who attempted another big hit but was clean bowled. As wickets continued to tumble rapidly, the Warriorz had no chance of recovery, paving the way for a dominant 81-run victory for the Gujarat Giants. Kashvee Gautam (3-11) and Tanuja Kanwar (3-17) were the standout bowlers for the Giants.

Brief scores:

Gujarat Giants: 186/5 in 20 overs (Beth Mooney 96*, Harleen Deol 45; Sophie Ecclestone 2-34, Chinelle Henry 1-31) defeated UP Warriorz: 105 all out in 17.1 overs (Chinelle Henry 28, Grace Harris 25; Kashvee Gautam 3-11, Tanuja Kanwar 3-17) by 81 runs.

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Sports

T20 World Cup | Pakistan Edge Past Netherlands in a Close Contest

Published

10 hours ago

February 7, 2026

Namma Kudla

Colombo: The T20 World Cup began today with an exciting match between Pakistan and the Netherlands. Pakistan secured a narrow three-wicket victory despite a strong bowling performance. However, the top-order batters failed to deliver. With this win, Pakistan made a positive start to the 10th edition of the tournament.

After losing the toss, the Netherlands batted first at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo. The team was bowled out for 147 runs in 19.5 overs. Pakistan chased the modest target and scored 148 runs for the loss of seven wickets in 19.3 overs.

Pakistan started aggressively, but the Netherlands slowed their progress. Pakistan lost four wickets for 98 runs. Soon, they were in trouble at 114 for seven. Faheem Ashraf played a crucial role at the end and guided the team to victory.

For Pakistan, Sahibzada Farhan scored 47 runs, while Saim Ayub added 24 runs. Faheem Ashraf contributed an important 29 runs. The rest of the batters failed to score big. Star batter Babar Azam disappointed fans by scoring only 15 runs off 18 balls.

Earlier, Netherlands captain Scott Edwards scored 37 runs. Bas de Leede made 30 runs, Colin Ackermann added 20, and Michael Levitt scored 24 runs. The remaining batters were dismissed for low scores.

Sports

India Clinch Record Sixth Under-19 World Cup Title

Published

14 hours ago

February 7, 2026

Namma Kudla

Sports: India defeated England by 100 runs to win the ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2026 final at the Harare Sports Club. The victory marked India’s sixth title, making them the most successful team in the tournament’s history.

India batted first and posted a massive total of 411 for 9 in 50 overs. The innings was powered by 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who smashed a record-breaking 175 runs off just 80 balls. His knock included 15 fours and 15 sixes and became the highest individual score ever in an Under-19 World Cup final.

Suryavanshi also shared a crucial 142-run partnership with captain Ayush Mhatre, who scored 53 runs. Their strong batting display helped India set a daunting target of 412 for England.

England tried to fight back in the chase, with Caleb Falconer scoring 115 and Ben Dawkins adding 66. However, the team was eventually bowled out for 311, handing India a comfortable victory.

Suryavanshi was named Player of the Match and Player of the Tournament for his historic performance. The triumph once again highlighted India’s dominance in youth cricket on the global stage.

Sports

Storm in the First Over: RCB Create New WPL Record

Published

3 weeks ago

January 17, 2026

Namma Kudla

Royal Challengers Bengaluru created history in the Women’s Premier League by scoring the highest number of runs in the first over of a match. RCB scored a massive 23 runs in the opening over, setting a new WPL record.

This historic moment took place during the match against Gujarat Giants at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. Gujarat Giants bowler Renuka Singh Thakur conceded 23 runs in the first over, making it the most expensive opening over in WPL history.

Renuka began the over with a wide delivery. The ball went past the wicketkeeper and crossed the boundary, resulting in five runs. RCB batter Grace Harris then took charge of the over. She smashed four consecutive boundaries, putting the Gujarat Giants under pressure.

During the over, Renuka Singh bowled two more wides, adding extra runs to the total. On the final delivery of the over, Grace Harris struck another boundary. This completed a dramatic and record-breaking first over for RCB.

With this, Renuka Singh Thakur recorded the most expensive first over ever bowled in the Women’s Premier League. The previous record was held by Tanuja Kanwar. She had conceded 21 runs in the first over while playing for Gujarat Giants against Mumbai Indians in the 2023 season.

In the same match, Royal Challengers Bengaluru batted first and put up a strong total. RCB scored 182 runs for the loss of seven wickets in 20 overs. The team showed aggressive batting throughout the innings.

Gujarat Giants chased the target but failed to keep up with the required run rate. They were bowled out for 150 runs in 18.5 overs. As a result, Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the match by 32 runs.

This victory strengthened RCB’s position in the tournament and added a historic achievement to the Women’s Premier League records.