The Gujurat Giants won a run-fest by 10 runs against the UP Warriorz in their Tata WPL match at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Saturday.
A splendid 65 from Ashleigh Gardner powered the Giants to 207 for four, their highest total in the WPL, after the Warriorz won the toss and put them in to bat. The Warriorz reply was dominated by a brilliant 78 in 40 balls from Aussie left-hander Phoebe Litchfield but when she was finally dismissed, caught on the extra-cover boundary, the final result was inevitable as they finally finished on 197 for eight.
On an excellent pitch for batting, the crowd was entertained to the tune of 404 runs with the batters holding sway over some ordinary bowling and in the Warriorz’s case, some poor fielding. Both sides had completely revamped their squads after last year and it was the Giants who looked the better balanced side at the start of this year's competition.
Chasing a record 208 for victory, Meg Lanning and Litchfield added 70 in 46 balls for the second wicket after the early dismissal of opener Kiran Navgire after Renuka Singh pierced her defence with a late inswinger.
The Warriorz looked to have given themselves a good chance before Lanning was leg before to a Georgia Wareham googly, the ball brushing her pad just before it hit the edge of her bat. Wareham then caught and bowled Harleen Deol in the same over before Deepti Sharma was also caught and bowled off a leading edge by Singh – the three wickets falling in five balls for just one run.
Litchfield, however, was unphased and she unleashed a dazzling array of shots all round the wicket, adding 69 in 35 balls with Shweta Sehrawat (25) before left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad bowled Sehrawat after she attempted a slog-sweep.
The Giants then effectively clinched the match when Litchfield was caught driving on the extra-cover boundary. The hugely talented left-hander had struck eight fours and five sixes in her innings which, remarkably, was her first half-century in the competition.
Legspinner Wareham impressed for the Giants, claiming 2/30 in her four overs with most of the runs she conceded coming off the flashing blade of Litchfield. Indian pace bowler Singh also bowled well, taking 2/25 for the best economy rate of any bowler in the match.
Earlier, Gardner led her team to their highest WPL total with a clinical 65 in 41 balls, including seven fours, though she was reprieved early on when keeper Sehrawat failed to complete a stumping chance.
She and 22-year-old debutant Anushka Sharma (44 off 30 balls) provided a key third-wicket partnership of 103 in 65 balls. The relatively unknown Sharma showed immense promise, dominating the early stages of the partnership until Gardner accelerated.
First game. Fiery performance. 🔥
— Gujarat Giants (@Giant_Cricket) January 10, 2026
Just Swing Queen things. 💫😮💨#GujaratGiants #BringItOn #Adani #GameOnGujaratStrong #TATAWPL #UPWvGGW pic.twitter.com/Cbo8s8blGw
The pair built on an early foundation provided by Sophie Devine who blasted a speedy cameo of 38 in 20 balls, including five fours and two sixes, against an erratic Warriorz attack that gave her plenty of opportunities to hit boundaries.
Left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone was the best of the Warriorz bowlers, claiming the wickets of Giants’ opener Beth Mooney (bowled attempting to pull a faster delivery that knocked back her off stump) and Gardner (who missed a slog-sweep), but even she conceded 32 off her four overs.
Wareham and Bharti Fulmali then took the team past the 200 mark with some big hitting in the final two overs, adding 34 in 13 balls.
Georgia Wareham stars against UP Warriorz with a brisk cameo and a tidy spell to help Gujarat Giants. 🧡#GGvUPW #WPL2026 #Sportskeeda pic.twitter.com/t6DmrsWOkC
— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) January 10, 2026