WPL 2024: Shabnam Shakil stars as Gujarat Giants beats UP Warriorz in thriller; Deepti Sharma’s heroics in vain

UP Warriorz’ Deepti Sharma overtook the likes of Meg Lanning, Beth Mooney, and Harmanpreet Kaur to claim the orange cap but could not get her team over the line in a must-win encounter against the Gujarat Giants.

Gujarat Giants bowler Shabnam Shakil starred witha a three-wicket haul against UP Warriorz during the WPL 2024 match at the Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium in New Delhi.  | Photo Credit: RV Moorthy

There was a point in the UP Warriorz bowling innings when Sophie Ecclestone had a frightened look on her face, anticipating the grassing of a catch. That expression was a great descriptor for life in the Warriorz dugout in a crunch match against Gujarat Giants which ended in the latter’s favour by eight runs at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Monday.

After looking out of the contest for most part of the game, a superhuman effort from Deepti Sharma (88 n.o, 60b, 9x4, 4x6), albeit in vain, brought this match back to life with a thrilling final-over finish, the fourth of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) in as many games.

GG-W vs UP-W WPL 2024 Highlights

After being asked to chase, Warriorz needed 153 to win. Alyssa Healy – known for her ability to scorch a stage when under pressure – got off the mark punishing Shabnam Shakil’s volley for four through backward point. Moments later, she got distracted thanks to one of the drummers in a bright yellow shirt running across the sight screen.

Shabnam made the best use of the lapse in concentration, taking out Healy first and then Chamari Athapaththu in the same over. Ashleigh Gardner sent back compatriot Grace Harris for a solitary run, while Shabnam made short work of her U-19 teammate and captain Shweta Sehrawat.

Deepti operated on a different plane. She took time to settle into the feel of the pitch. From the 15th over, when the fire under their bottoms got a tad hotter, Deepti dialled up the intensity, partnering with Poonam Khemnar to stitch a 109-run stand. With 26 needed off the last over and a wayward Meghna Singh in charge of the ball, two huge sixes from Deepti over long off helped bring the equation down to 10 off two. However, Giants and Meghna held their nerve to seal a win that keeps the side alive in the tournament mathematically.

Earlier, Laura Wolvaart’s brisk 30-ball 43 and Mooney (74 n.o, 52b, 10x4, 1x6), who carried her bat with barely had much help from the rest of the order got Giants to 152, which was eventually enough is another nail-biter.