WPL 2023, DC vs GG blog: Gujarat Giants prevail in thriller to defeat Delhi Capitals by 11 runs

All England Open R16 live: Prannoy and Srikanth in action; Gayatri-Treesa oust world No 9

That will be all for the blog. Friday is a rest day and it seems like a good time for all franchises to take a break and regroup before they step onto the field for the business end of the tournament. Actions resumes on Saturday with a double-header.

Player of the match: Ash Gardner

The points table and the tournament from here on continues to remain interesting. Especially, if UP Warriorz and Royal Challengers Bangalore can win their respective matches on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Meg Lanning, without the Orange Cap, as Vinayakk observes, on the loss: “They bowled well but we played poor shots and gave away wickets through run outs. Frustrating game, guess that’s the way it goes. Our bowlers did an excellent job and I thought they were 20-25 under par. My shot to get out was poor. Playing across the line on a track where I should have played straight. That happened a couple of times. The run outs were bad too.”

Delhi Capitals innings: With this win, Gujarat Giants keep their chances for the Top 3 alive while Delhi Capitals are made to wait. A much better bowling performance from GG as well, Gardner, Garth and Kanwar all pick up 2 wickets apiece.

Gujarat Giants win by 11 runs!

A thriller that went in favour of Sneh Rana and Co even as the jittery nerves started to set in towards the end. A great effort from Kapp and Arundhati but they needed more support around them.

DC 135/9 (18.4 overs): WICKET! All Poonam Yadav had to do was give the strike to Shikha Pandey. Instead, she drives one straight into the hands of Hemalatha at mid-wicket. Ash Gardner and the rest of her teammates are pumped.

DC 135/9 (17.6 overs): WICKET! She timed it and timed it until she didn’t. Lovely cameo from Arundhati Reddy but it comes to an end as Garth takes her second.

Thriller alert!

DC 128/8 (17 overs): Yeah, should GG have gone ahead with some pace instead of spin? Because the nerves are obvious from their side. Arundhati is playing a handy little cameo and Shikha Pandey can hit too. Nerves from Sneh Rana too, as she concedes five on a wide and decides to review it then.

DC 115/8 (16 overs): Reddy steps out of the pitch and hits it straight to the boundary in the third delivery. Important few runs. 10 runs off Harleen Deol’s over.

DC 100/7 (13.4 overs): WICKET! Good take from Sushma Verma behind the stumps as Kanwar picks up her second. Radha Yadav departs for 1. DC’s batting depth is getting exposed today.

DC 97/7 (13.4 overs): WICKET! A direct hit from Ashwani and this time Kapp is not able to get that dive in and she has to depart for 36. The wheels coming off DC’s innings. GG’s fielding has been impressive today.

DC 97/6 (13.2 overs): WICKET! The need of the hour was for Bhatia to step up with the bat but it’s not to be. Ash Gardner strikes as the wicket-keeper batter is undone playing across the line.

DC 96/5 (13 overs): DC can keep their hopes alive as long as Marizanne Kapp is in the middle. She goes after Harleen Deol, first driving one off extra cover and follows it up with a slog sweep over deep mid-wicket for six. Brings the pressure down with 14 runs in that over.

DC 82/5 (12 overs): Kanwer with a superb over! Five dot balls. Pressure building on DC.

Taniya Bhatia in. Her batting has to step up here. Tanuja Kanwer to bowl.

DC 81/5 (11 overs): WICKET! And now we are talking. Rana’s decision pays of this time, Deol strikes in her first over. Huge wicket for GG, Jonassen out for a 10-ball 4. Mishits one to long off and knew immediately she was in trouble.

Rana throws the ball to Harleen Deol. Interesting.

DC need 70 off 60 balls. Another wicket here and GG can believe.

DC 78/4 (10 overs): A par over for DC without taking too much risk against Rana. Kapp wanted a no ball there but wasn’t given.

Rana to continues after the powerplay.

DC 71/4 (9 overs): 16-run over! Mansi Joshi has been utilised sparingly by GG. And that over is not going to help her cause. Two fours for Kapp and a wide that goes for four as well. GG have somehow not used Hemalatha’s spin, surely was a better option here than giving the batters pace.

DC 55/4 (8 overs): This partnership is huge for DC. Two gun internationals, both clutch under pressure. The required rate is not crazy, so they can consolidate here but there is definite help for spinners on this wicket, GG should favour themselves here. 3 off Gardner’s over.

That was another really solid piece of wicketkeeping by Verma. Jonassen has joined Kapp in the middle.

DC 52/4 (6.5 overs): WICKET! Rodrigues hasn’t had a good night. First the run out of Capsey and now she falls slightly after. Garth repays the captain’s plan to giver her another over. Rodrigues out for 1 off 4 balls.

DC 51/3 (6 overs): Looked like all DC in that powerplay but things have changed quickly. Rana keeps Garth going for the 7th over.

DC 50/3 (5.5 overs): WICKET! A bad mix-up in the middle as Jemimah makes a poor call for the run and the Capsey, who was hitting well, is run out for 22.

DC 48/2 (5.2 overs): WICKET! Captain gets Captain. Lanning is plump and has to depart for 18.

DC 44/1 (5 overs): Gardner built the pressure with dots but Capsey goes big in the last two deliveries. 12 runs off the over.

DC 32/1 (4 overs): Lanning gets the control back as she scores two boundaries in this over against Kanwar. 12 runs off the over.

DC 20/1 (3 overs): Great over by Kim Garth, dots on dots. The pressure on DC is evident. But Capsey helps release it with powerful cover drive. Six runs off the over.

DC 10/1 (1.5 over): WICKET! No fireworks from Shafali Verma this time around. There is a bit of a deflection off her boot and Tanuja Kanwar gets the first breakthrough.

DC 4/0 (1 over): Drama in the first ball itself! Umpire gives Meg Lanning not out. Kim Garth and Sushma Verma are not very confident about the review but ask Sneh Rana to go for it anyway. It turns out to be umpire’s call. Cloooose. Pressure on the openers straight away.

Shafali Verma and Meg Lanning open the innings for DC and Kim Garth is opening the bowling for GG.

Gujarat Giants innings: Fifties from Wolvaardt and Gardner ensured that the Giants stayed afloat and did not collapse this time around. Although the innings from Harleen and Wolvaardt did not come as fluently as they would have liked, it’s also obvious that the surface has played a role in the same. Gardner will be pleased to finally get runs under the belt.

GG 147/4 (20 overs): Gujarat Giants finish with 147.

Gardner remains unbeaten as she brings up her first fifty of the season, off 33 deliveries. It’s an expensive outing for Jonassen who has conceded 38 runs but finishes with two wickets. Dayalan Hemalatha is dismissed in the last delivery.

GG 134/3 (18.4 overs): WICKET! Arundhati Reddy strikes and Laura Wolvaardt has to depart for 57. In her third over on the trot, the bowler did well to recover after back-to-back boundaries from Gardner.

GG 125/2 (18 overs): Wolvaardt and Gardner have started to open up. Wolvaardt hits one hard past long-off for four. Nine runs off the over.

GG 116/2 (17 overs): Fifty for Wolvaardt! Vital, vital knock and it comes when GG need it most. To think that she was not even in the scheme of things at the auction... Her side needed someone to anchor the innings today and the South African batter has stepped up. Expect her accelerate further. 7 runs off Arundhati Reddy’s over.

GG 109/2 (16 overs): First six of the innings as Wolvaardt lofts one over long-off. She adds to Jonassen’s misery with back-to-back boundaries after that as Gujarat Giants bring up a fifty run-partnership and cross the 100-run mark. Big over, with 15 runs scored off it.

GG 94/2 (15 overs): Yup, Gardner is looking good. She lofts one over the bowler for four over Kapp. Wolvaardt also joins in with a classy pull through square leg. 11 runs off the over.

GG 89/2 (14 overs): Is today really the day Gardner puts on a match-winning performance she is capable of? She hits the full-toss for a boundary over deep mid-wicket. She is given out lbw in the next deliver but she survives, courtesy a DRS review.

GG 74/2 (13 overs): Gardner creates some room for herself decides to capitalise on the short ball from Shikha Pandey for four. She follows it up with another boundary past backward point. 10 runs off the over.

GG 64/2 (12 overs): Poonam Yadav continues to keep it economical. Just four runs off the over.

GG 60/2 (11 overs): Ash Gardner almost chops one off but it misses the keeper and results in a boundary straightaway. DC later review an LBW call but Kapp, the bowler was fifty-fifty on it anyway and it is not given. Six runs off the over.

GG 53/2 (9.5 overs): WICKET! Brilliant review from DC. Well-set Harleen has to depart for 31. Taniya Bhatia thought she heard something there and instantly urged Lanning to go for it. Clear spike on it and the umpire has to reverse the decision.

GG 50/1 (9 overs): Fifty up for the Giants! Lanning continues to rotate the bowlers. Arundhati Reddy comes in to bowl. Harleen comes down the track to drill the third delivery for a four. 8 runs off the over.

GG 42/1 (8 overs): First time bowling for Poonam Yadav in this tournament. It’s been a long wait but she doesn’t look rusty by any means. The commentators observe that she is bowling much quicker. It’s a good start, just three runs off it.

GG 39/1 (7 overs): Short ball in the first delivery by Radha and Harleen pounces on it to get a boundary through the covers. 7 runs off the over.

GG 32/1 (6 overs): A quick boundary through mid-wicket from Wolvaardt in the first delivery against Jonasse. 8 runs off the over.

In case you were wondering, Cricket South Africa confirmed Dane van Niekerk’s retirement.

GG 24/1 (5 overs): Economical first over from Shikha Pandey, just two runs off it.

GG 22/1 (4 overs): Harleen sweeps one off to get another boundary and she nearly miscues one at mid-on but it lands short of the fielder. Seven runs off Capsey’s over.

GG 15/1 (3 overs): First boundary for Wolvaardt as well as she drives one through extra cover. Four runs off Kapp’s second over.

GG 11/1 (2 overs): Woman in form, Harleen Deol gets her first boundary off Radha Yadav. Seven runs off the over.

GG 4/1 (1 over): WICKET! Kapp strikes in the first over and Dunkley has to depart for 4. It was a good move to get Wolvaardt and Dunkley to open and it should have happened sooner. But the constant chopping and changing is going to lead to instability. There were two fumbles inside the circle from the DC fielders in the over but they don’t prove to be too costly after all.

A new opening pair for Gujarat Giants in Sophia Dunkley and Laura Wolvaardt. Marizanne Kapp to open the bowling for Delhi Capitals.

Shikha Pandey, who has picked up a three-for two games in a row, has eased into her rhythm as the tournament progressed.

Read our interview with her from earlier:

Teams:

Delhi Capitals Playing XI: Meg Lanning(c), Shafali Verma, Alice Capsey, Jemimah Rodrigues, Marizanne Kapp, Jess Jonassen, Taniya Bhatia(w), Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Poonam Yadav

Gujarat Giants Playing XI: Sophia Dunkley, Laura Wolvaardt, Harleen Deol, Ashleigh Gardner, Dayalan Hemalatha, Sneh Rana(c), Sushma Verma(w), Kim Garth, Tanuja Kanwar, Mansi Joshi, Ashwani Kumari

TOSS: DC win the toss and opt to bowl first.

6:58 pm: Gujarat Giants have hinted that both Sophia Dunkley and Laura Wolvaardt could be slotted in the line-up. They have also handed a cap to Jharkhand’s all-rounder Ashwani Kumari, a finisher and a right-arm pacer.

6:55 pm: Meg Lanning’s largely settled squad still look like favourites to get yet another win over Gujarat Giants. The latter are yet to figure out what their best XI is and who their top overseas picks are. A destructive opening pair in Lanning and Shafali has toyed with bowling line-ups and Harleen Deol, with 155 runs in five games is the only batter from the Gujarat Giants who even features in the Top 10 run-getters of the tournament so far. But the weakest link for the Giants’ remains their bowling, especially at death. They would be hoping for a better outing in order to get another two points in the tournament.

6:50 pm: Hello and welcome to the live coverage of Women’s Premier League. It’s match No 14 and the Delhi Capitals will be hoping to get another win and confirm a Top 3 finish. They take on Sneh Rana’s Gujarat Giants.

The last time these two sides met, the Giants were handed a massive 10-wicket defeat thanks to Marizanne Kapp’s five-for and a blitzkrieg by Shafali Verma. While the Capitals have only lost one game so far, Giants have had a contrasting campaign, winning the solitary game against RCB. Will the Brabourne Stadium against the same opposition make things different for them? Mind you, the Giants are now bottom of the table after RCB’s win last night.

And yes, DC will confirm a place in top three if they win tonight.

WPL 2023, GG vs DC blog: Sensational Shafali Verma helps DC chase 105 in the 8th over

TOSS: Sneh Rana opts to bat

First innings: GG 105/9 after 20 overs

Second innings: DC 107/0 after 7.1 overs:

Photos / screenshots in the blog courtesy: Sportzpics / wplt20.com and JioCinema