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We've witnessed the first thriller of the competition and needless to say, this tournament is here to stay. And we have another blockbuster contest lined up tomorrow with the Mumbai Indians taking on the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Brabourne Stadium. It's Harmanpreet Kaur v. Smriti Mandhana - it can't get better than this alright. But we all need to catch our breath after that spectacle that we witnessed today. Brace yourselves for more though as the WPL 2023 rolls along. For now though, this is the duo of Karthik Raj and Sooryanarayanan Sesha taking your leave. Thank you so much for joining us as we hope you enjoyed our coverage just as much as we did bringing it to you. Wishing you a great week ahead - good night and take care!
What a character! She can bat alright. But she also has a wonderful sense of humor. A terrific character that every player would want to be around. Grace Harris has laid down an early marker in the WPL 2023 in style and this is the kind of win that will lift that UP Warriorz dressing room. What a start to the tournament!
As for the Giants, this will hurt. They played really well today. A marked improvement on the team that showed up against the Mumbai Indians last evening. But this will be a bitter pill to swallow. They almost certainly know now that Beth Mooney may not return for the tournament and while Sneh Rana led admirably well, they will have to find a way to lift the mood in the camp.
Grace Harris is, of course, the Player of the Match. Here's what she has to say: I started poorly and I just thought I was fluffing around out there. You need to get used to the condition of the wicket to know how to play. I took some time and then towards the back end I was thankful that Soph (Ecclestone) also motored along. I wasn't quite under pressure. Great to finish it off. To be honest I actually knew what I wanted to do. I was getting a little bit dancy when there were too many breaks with the DRS there. I'm glad I took my time to recompose myself. I was just psyched to get the job done. I like batting with a little bit of freedom. Here the coach supports any decision I make out in the middle. He just told me to go out and be free. And I just went out and was free. She is a clean striker and that's prolly a part of why I played so well towards the end. I wasn't under pressure knowing that there was another batter at the other end capable of striking it as well. Maybe it might fall in our lappy and it was good. There was a little bit of a confusion towards the end there when the umpire said that the DRS was down. We kind of took advantage of it once it was back up and running. (Celebration tonight?) There'll be drinks and burgers. I love burgers. Although I don't know where to find them in India. Might have to settle for some butter chicken.
Alyssa Healy (UP Warriorz captain): Full credit to Grace and our lower order in particular to get us home. Grace is Grace. That's the only way you can describe her. She's genuinely got the belief in her ability to strike the ball. She showed India and the world what she's capable of. Kiran was sensational. If we lost an early wicket we were going to send her to have a bit of a whack. Great to see young Indian stars coming out and showing their talent. When you throw them (Deepti and Ecclestone) the ball you know exactly what you're going to get. Sophie and Deepti were exceptional tonight. (On the calling between her and Shweta Sehrawat) We might well have a few words later (grins). Shweta's first experience of playing in a stadium like this. Hope she enjoyed that experience but we will have a word on calling for the run earlier (grins). On we go to play Delhi next game.
Sophie Ecclestone: Honestly, just went in and tried to get it close. Just unbelievable how Grace pulled it off! She is mad. She is great for the squad. She knew what she was trying to do right from the first ball she played. (About the prospect of bowling to Laura Harris) I know it is going to be scary. Hopefully, Grace can give some tips. The team is amazing. We have got good strength around the squad and this win is going to get us together even more
Sneh Rana (Gujarat Giants captain): Yeah, disappointed with the loss but proud of the girls after how we lost yesterday. The girls played superbly. It was a very good game between the two teams. Unfortunately, we couldn't win. Yes, definitely I enjoyed my leadership. Even during the toss, I said how I enjoy leading the side as you get the responsibility on the shoulders. The dew definitely plays a major role when we bowl second. It was difficult to grip the ball but that is how it is!
Match Summary: UP Warriorz beat Gujarat Giants by 3 wickets with a delivery to spare.
Grace Harris 59* (26) | Sophie Ecclestone 2/25 (2) Harleen Deol 46 (32) | Kim Garth 5/36 (4)
Have you been away for the last few overs? Just hopped back? Well, rub your eyes or pinch yourself all you want but you are not reading it wrong. The UP Warriorz have indeed pulled off a jailbreak of the highest order just when all hope seemed lost for good. That was spectacular to say the least!
They were well behind the eight-ball for large swathes of their chase of 170. The momentum they lost towards the end of their bowling innings spilled over into their batting essay, with Kim Garth's triple-strike in the third over breaking the back of their batting order. With two of those wickets reading Alyssa Healy and Tahlia McGrath, the Warriorz found themselves in a real pickle before Kiran Navgire and Deepti Sharma combined forces.
It was Navgire who put the chase back on track by rotating strike well before cashing in on anything loose. She looked comfortable off the back foot against spin in particular and anything in the slot also traveled. Deepti took her time but barely had enough of the strike to make an impact. It was the Navgire show as she waltzed along to a pristine half-century to put the Warriorz on track. But that's where it flipped on its head - Mansi Joshi's beautiful inswinger castled Deepti before Garth struck twice again to send Navgire and Simran Shaikh back, snaring a five-fer in the process.
All hope seemed lost for good when the equation boiled down to 53 needed off 3 overs. No way the Warriorz could win this. Surely not? Well, Grace Harris had other ideas. She took it one delivery at a time and pierced the field while also transferring a lot of power into her strokes. Slowly but surely, she brought the game a lot closer than one expected it to get down to and with Sophie Ecclestone also joining the party, the contest was right in the balance once again.
19 runs were required off the final over as Annabel Sutherland ran into an unstoppable Harris. It was chaos of the highest order - a couple of decisions were reviewed to check the wide and in both instances, it went in favor of the Warriorz. Harris was hopping around like a cat on a hot tin roof although it did not reflect in the way she butchered the ball. She simply picked the bones out of it and transferred all pressure back onto the Giants, who succumbed and erred in their execution, while also losing their way on the field. A blistering half-century is what followed and fittingly, she sealed the deal in style with a big hit to see the Warriorz kickstart their campaign on a winning note. Wow - that was stunning!
Yup. That's us. That's all of us. Grace Harris is the name folks. Remember it for the rest of this tournament and beyond! What a game, what a thriller. UP Warriorz snatch victory by 3 wickets!
19.5 Annabel Sutherland to Grace Harris, THAT IS IT! GRACE HARRIS FINISHES IT OFF WITH EASE! Full-toss from Sutherland, Grace just helps it over deep backward square-leg as the ball goes over the fence for a maximum. SIX! What a way to seal their first victory! The first thriller of the WPL too!
Fifty for Grace Harris! Look at her leap and jump in absolute joy! The scores are level and surely, the Warriorz have to get it done now.
19.4 Annabel Sutherland to Grace Harris, OH! MY GOD!! UP WARRIORZ ON THE VERGE NOW! Full and wide of off, Grace lifts it to deep covers where Mansi over-runs due to the spin on the ball. It reaches the fence as Grace Harris gets to a fifty. UP are just one run away!
When you can, go for the DRS. This seemed like a fair call though. It is and well well - we have a check for a catch too in the process. All good though...scratch that - it's been called a wide! Scenes! Can you believe it? Disbelief on the faces of the Giants, joy on the faces of the Warriorz. 5 needed off 2...
19.4 Annabel Sutherland to Grace Harris, full and wide of off, Grace looks to reach out and cut but she misses it. WIDE not called and Grace Harris asks for the DRS! The ball pitched inside the tramline but it went over after that. What's the decision here? Ultra-Edge is on and there is no spike. We are still waiting for the decision. And the TV umpire has termed it a WIDE! Game-changing moment!
GRACE HARRIS! She's doing it. She's doing the unthinkable. Why would you bowl in the slot though if you want to go scrambled seam? One hit away now - 6 needed off 3...
19.3 Annabel Sutherland to Grace Harris, full on the stumps, Grace lifts it over the bowler's head and the ball disappears to the fence. FOUR! Hit with so much ferocity!
More running around. The Giants are taking their own sweet time here.
CHAOS EVERYWHERE! Alyssa Healy can see the funny side of it as well as the smiles, but her heart must be pounding at a rapid rate. This is tension of the highest order. 10 needed off 4...
19.2 Annabel Sutherland to Grace Harris, STUNNING FIELDING AND THEN SOME SLOPPY STUFF! Full-toss on the stumps, Grace flicks it to deep mid-wicket where Harleen Deol dives and relays a throw to Ashleigh Gardner. Gardner fires a throw to Annabel Sutherland who fails to collect the ball with Sophie Ecclestone struggling to reach the crease!