UP Warriorz was reeling at 88-6 shortly after Grace Harris came out to bat. With Kim Garth breathing fire and claiming her maiden five-for in the inaugural Women’s Premier League, a target of 170 looked like a distant dream.
But at the DY Patil Stadium on Sunday evening, the seasoned Harris showed why she’s considered a talent powerhouse in Australian cricket as her unbeaten 59 off 26 balls (7x4, 3x6) guided the Warriorz to a three-wicket win against Gujarat Giants.
Harris made it look easy as she hammered four boundaries in the 18th over, bowled by Garth, to turn things Warrioz’s way. Coming with an aggressive mindset, Harris forged a crucial 70-run stand with Sophie Ecclestone (22 n.o., 12b, 1x4,1x6). With 19 required in the final over, Harris hit Annabel Sutherland for a six off the first ball. A wide and a couple of boundaries later, she sealed the deal with a six. As she jumped for joy and hugged Ecclestone after guiding the team home, the Giants players couldn’t believe that the Warriorz managed to reach 175-7 despite reeling at a point in time.
After Harleen Deol’s gritty 46 (32b, 7x4) guided Giants to 169-6, Garth removed the top-three Warriorz batters inside the first three overs, with just 20 runs on the board.
Kiran Navgire, however, fought back with a 43-ball-53 and built a 66-run stand with the seasoned Deepti Sharma, before Mansi Joshi found a breakthrough, cleaning up Deepti. Garth struck in the next over, removing Navgire and Simran Shaikh off successive deliveries.
Things could have gone haywire thereon, but Harris and Ecclestone stood firm.
In the absence of the injured Beth Mooney, Rana opted to bat after winning the toss, earlier in the evening. The decision paid off initially as the team brought up 30 runs in three overs, before Deepti and Ecclestone tightened the noose.
At a time when crossing the 100-run mark looked difficult, Deol and Ashleigh Gardner rebuilt. But that was not enough.
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