UPW vs GG Highlights, WPL 2023: 3 moments that generated a buzz among fans in Match 3

A thrilling contest unfolded on Sunday night at the DY Patil Sports Academy when UP Warriorz (UPW) humbled Gujarat Giants (GG) by three wickets. They chased down 170 runs to begin their Women's Premier League (WPL) 2023 campaign with a win.

After a humiliating defeat against Mumbai Indians (MI), coupled with skipper Beth Mooney's injury, the Giants were already in deep waters heading into this contest. However, GG put up an improved performance with the bat, posting 169/6 on the back of Harleen Deol's 46 and handy contributions from Ashleigh Gardner (25) and D Hemlatha (21*).

In response, UP Warriorz were down and out of the game at one point, reeling at 105/7 in 15.4 overs. However, Alyssa Healy and Co. still had the belief to chase down the target.

Grace Harris launched a carnage, scoring an unbeaten 59 off 26 balls, coupled with Sophie Ecclestone's unbeaten 22 off 12 deliveries, and took UPW home with one ball to spare.

On that note, let's take a look at three moments from the game between UPW and GG that generated a buzz among fans.

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#1 Grace Harris' blistering knock

Grace Harris, the all-rounder from Australia, was the most debated name on social media after Sunday's game between UPW and GG. The 29-year-old probably played the best knock of her career under pressure to earn her side a valuable couple of moments.

Just when the chips were down, Harris produced a counter-attacking game, scoring an unbeaten 59 off just 26 deliveries, with the help of seven boundaries and three sixes, to take the team home.

She dispatched almost everything that came her way to set a really high benchmark for herself. It was one hell of a knock, which was enjoyed by one and all.

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#2 Kim Garth's five-wicket haul

Kim Garth joined the GG camp as a replacement for West Indian all-rounder Deandra Dottin. She didn't feature in the first game where they suffered a heavy defeat and was added to the playing XI for the second fixture.

Garth, who hails from Australia, immediately made her mark, albeit in a losing cause. The right-arm pacer picked up three wickets in the third over, including Healy, Tahila McGrath, and Shweta Sehrawat, to push UPW on the backfoot.

She chipped in with two more wickets to return with figures of 5/36, the second five-wicket haul by a bowler in WPL 2023.

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#3 GG skipper Beth Mooney's injury

Gujarat Giants skipper Beth Mooney suffered an injury while batting during the opening WPL 2023 game against Mumbai Indians on Saturday, March 4, and had to walk off the field.

While there was no official statement on Mooney's injury, she didn't feature in GG's next game against UP Warriorz. While there was a lot of buzz around the nature of the injury, the Giants' head coach Rachael Haynes confirmed that the star Aussie batter is likely to miss the remainder of the tournament.

It would certainly be a massive blow to the franchise, who have already lost Dottin even before the start of the competition.