Gujarat Giants began their Tata Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 season in style, defending a mammoth 207/4 to secure a tense 10-run victory over UP Warriorz in the tournament’s first afternoon game since 2023.
In a run-fest that produced 404 runs in total, captain Ashleigh Gardner’s authoritative 65 (41) laid the foundation while Georgia Wareham’s explosive finishing and crucial bowling earned her Player of the Match honours.
Batting first after losing the toss, Gujarat Giants received an aggressive start from Sophie Devine, who took the attack to the renowned UPW spin duo of Deepti Sharma and Sophie Ecclestone, racing to 38 off just 20 balls. The powerplay yielded 56 runs but also two wickets, with Ecclestone and Shikha Pandey removing Beth Mooney and Devine in quick succession.
What followed was a masterclass in controlled aggression. Captain Gardner and debutant Anushka Sharma stitched together a superb 103-run third-wicket partnership, ensuring at least one boundary per over between overs 7-11. Sharma displayed elegant strokeplay for her 44 (30), while Gardner shifted gears brilliantly after a measured beginning, reaching her sixth WPL fifty in 30 balls with a flurry of boundaries and sixes.
Deandra Dottin broke the stand by dismissing Sharma, and Ecclestone bowled Gardner for a magnificent 65 (41), but the platform was already set at 173/4 after 18 overs. Wareham and Bharti Fulmali then unleashed mayhem in the death overs, plundering 34 runs off the final two overs—including five sixes—to propel GG to an imposing 207/4. Wareham’s unbeaten 27 came off just 10 deliveries.
Chasing 208, UP Warriorz lost Kiran Navgire in the very first over, clean-bowled by Renuka Singh Thakur. However, captain Meg Lanning and the in-form Phoebe Litchfield countered brilliantly, adding 70 runs in quick time to take UPW to 73/1 after nine overs.
The game swung dramatically when Wareham and Renuka struck in tandem, removing Lanning (30 off 27), Harleen Deol, and Deepti Sharma in the space of five balls, reducing UPW to 83/4. Undeterred, Litchfield and Shweta Sehrawat launched a spirited fightback, smashing 19 runs off Gardner’s over—with Litchfield bringing up a 24-ball fifty.
The fifth-wicket pair added 69 in just 35 balls, keeping UPW in the hunt. Litchfield’s innings was a treat—78 off 40 balls laced with eight fours and five sixes—but her dismissal, followed quickly by Sehrawat’s, triggered another collapse. Late fireworks from Asha Sobhana (27 off 10) proved insufficient as Gujarat’s bowlers held their nerve.
Renuka Singh, Sophie Devine, and Wareham each claimed two wickets apiece, with Wareham’s 2/30 and unbeaten cameo proving decisive.
The victory gives Gujarat Giants a perfect start to their campaign, while UP Warriorz will look to rebound quickly despite Litchfield’s dazzling form.
Player of the Match
Georgia Wareham – 27* (10) and 2/30
