Till Friday’s fixture within the Girls’s Premier League (WPL), Gujarat Giants hadn’t prevailed over Mumbai Indians in eight conferences.
Amid vociferous backing by its legion of followers on the Kotambi Stadium, Ashleigh Gardner’s facet lastly removed the millstone round its neck by registering a hard-earned 11-run victory. It additionally ensured a spot within the playoffs for the host.
In accordance with Giants coach Michael Klinger, this was proper among the many crew’s greatest performances.
“We all know what we’ve obtained to do to beat any crew. Once we play someplace very near our greatest, we’re ready to beat most groups. We have been fairly near one in every of our greatest video games tonight. On a floor that was a bit bit slower, getting near 170 was perhaps barely above par,” the Australian informed reporters.
On the toss, Gardner conspicuously went in opposition to the grain by electing to bat first. Among the many elements that went into the decision was the truth that the floor had been used for 3 earlier video games within the match.
“We’ve been taking part in fairly properly batting first. It was the fourth time the wicket was getting used. So, we felt if we may put up a reasonably stable complete and bowl and discipline someplace close to our greatest, we may defend it,” Klinger said.
The character of the floor allowed leg-spinner Georgia Wareham to seize the highlight. In addition to scoring an unbeaten 44, she scalped two breakthroughs in 4 frugal overs. Curiously, the Giants did contemplate benching Wareham for the sport given her detached kind.
“It was an actual powerful name as a result of we thought loads about bringing Danni Wyatt-Hodge again in,” knowledgeable the 45-year-old coach. “We felt (ultimately) that Georgia in these circumstances was the most suitable choice. Now, with the boldness going ahead, hopefully she’ll play a giant half within the Eliminator after which hopefully the ultimate.”
Printed on Jan 31, 2026