WPL 2023, GG vs UPW blog: Harris, McGrath power UP Warriorz into the playoffs

That will be all for the blog. Head over to the live blog for the second match of the day. A dress rehearsal for the final?

WPL 2023, Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Capitals

Player of the match: Grace Harris

UPW 181/7 after 19.5 overs: And with that, we know the three teams in playoffs. Farewell to GG, who are done with their 8 matches. RCB will play for pride in their last match tomorrow.

19.5: Ecclestone goes for a sweep and it’s a four! UP WARRIORZ WIN AND QUALIFY FOR PLAYOFFS!

19.4: Rana stops in her follow through. But Simran is inside the crease. Should have done this earlier, Rana ji. Ecclestone goes down the ground, Simran comes back for the second and is run out. But Ecclestone is on strike, smart. 2 off 2.

19.3: Complete mishit by Simran but they are running anyway and the single is completed with a dive. 3 off 3.

19.2: Oh misses out on a full toss. Four off four balls now, Simran on strike.

19.1: Rana to bowl. Ecclestone taps through midwicket and runs two.

UPW 172/6 after 19 overs: DROPPED! Tough C&B chance as Simran survives. UPW need 7 off the last over. Ecclestone holds the key.

UPW 172/6 after 18.5 overs: WICKET! SIX AND OUT. Grace Harris has left the door just ajar for RCB. She muscles Garth down the ground fo six but goes for one more big shot and is caught at long on. Harris c Deol b Garth 72 (41 balls)

UPW need 19 off 12 balls. Still very much their match.

UPW 160/5 after 18 overs: A flat six for Harris off Gardner! Uff, what a strike through square leg. Rana drops a difficult catch at long on as Ecclestone gets a life.

30 needed off 18 balls.

UPW 149/5 after 17 overs: She took her side home in a much more challenging scenario when these two met earlier. She is doing it again, much easier tonight. Two fours in that Kanwer over for Harris and she reaches another half century against GG

UPW need 41 from 24 balls.

UPW 138/5 after 16 overs: These two are more than capable of making this a cruise for UPW. A cheeky four for Harris at the start of that over.

Ecclestone joins Harris in the middle and this is the partnership that took UPW home against GG earlier. Monica Patel comes back.

Perhaps it is about time teams (India included) start playing Deepti Sharma as a pure bowler.

UPW 130/5 after 15 overs: WICKET! Oh Deepti. Already a good over for UPW, with a four each for Harris and Sharma but the latter goes for another big shot and is out last ball. Rana, who has been expensive, gets a wicket. Sharma c Gardner b Rana 6 (5 balls)

UPW 118/4 after 14 overs: Deepti joins Harris in the middle. Required rate just over 10 again.

UPW 117/4 after 13.4 overs: WICKET! Is there life in this still? Gardner steps up for GG as she has done most season. McGrath hits one straight to Rana at long off. McGrath c Rana b Gardner 57 (38 balls)

UPW 116/3 after 13 overs: Above par over. Two fours for McGrath of Kanwer as she hits a four through off and then through leg... the half century comes up for the Aussie star, the world No 1.

UPW 106/3 after 12 overs: All these runs that Harris is scoring are on Rana, really. What a chance it was to send her back to the pavilion. Two huge sixes in that Deol over, either side of a four.

90 needed off 9 overs.

UPW 89/3 after 11 overs: The required rate is going up steadily with these couple of quiet overs. But with these two in, UPW won’t mind that. They can easily go at 10+ in the end. Seven runs from Garth’s over, with a four for McGrath.

UPW 82/3 after 10 overs: Tidy over from Gardner but UPW won’t mind seeing her out.

UPW 77/3 after 9 overs: Incredible batting by McGrath. She is playing around with the field as Rana goes for plenty again. A four through the offside and then moves across to hit one through deep square. Sneh Rana really should have ran Grace Harris out in that over. Poor stuff from the GG captain.

UPW 64/3 after 8 overs: Monica started that over well but Harris hits two straight fours to make it a par one for UPW.

UPW 54/3 after 7 overs: Very good over by Kanwer. Nearly got Harris LBW.

UPW 52/3 after 6 overs: And that is why you don’t drop McGrath. Rana pays the price at the end of the powerplay as T-Mac hits three fours through the offside. An eventful powerplay comes to an end.

UPW 39/3 after 4.5 overs: WICKET! Tanuja Kanwer should have really caught McGrath there off her own bowling and that might still prove game-changing. But she bounces bac well enough to get Vaidya caught behind + stumped. Vaidya c Verma b Kanwer 7 (8 balls)

UPW 30/2 after 4 overs: A four each for Vaidya and McGrath in that Gardner over. Some momentum going UPW way again.

Gardner into the attack. A lot rides on McGrath for UPW.

UPW 19/2 after 2,4 overs: WICKET! And Navgire’s struggles continue. GArth with a good short ball, rises on the batter who can only find the fielder at midwicket. Navgire c Wolvaardt b Garth 4 (4b

UPW 14/1 after 1.5 overs: WICKET! Two fours for Healy off Patel, but the bowler has the last laugh. The fielder is placed for this mishit pull and Deol, who misfielded for one of the fours, takes the catch this time. Healy c Deol b Patel 12 (8 balls)

Next up, Monica Patel with her left-arm pace.

UPW 5/0 after 1 over: Was shaping into a good over from Garth but Healy steps down the track last ball to manage a four down the ground.

Target for UPW is 179: Garth, who picked up 5 wickets the last time these two met, to start off.

UP Warriorz need 179 runs to knock two teams out with one blow. And of course, qualify themselves. Healy and Vaidya continue to be the opening partnership but the latter needs to deliver. The last time these two met we got a stunning run-chase. What’s in store here?

GG 178/6 after 20 overs: A terrific finish to the innings by UPW spinners, just 12 runs from the last two overs combined. That Gardner and Hemalatha wickets played a big part in keeping GG below 180.

GG 177/6 after 19.4 overs: WICKET! I imagine most pre-tournament predictions would have had Sophie Ecclestone as the Purple Cap favourite. And there she is... for now at least. But bizarrely, Ashwani has clearly edged that while hitting the ground but she didn’t review. Ashwani Kumari lbw b Ecclestone 5 (5 balls)

GG 171/5 after 19 overs: 4-0-29-2 for Chopra. Terrific.

GG 166/5 after 18.1 overs: WICKET! Firstly, credit to Healy for trusting the youngster. And credit to the youngster for repaying that faith. A terrific googly completely deceives Gardner and the captain completes the stumping. Gardner st Healy b Chopra 60 (39 balls)

GG 166/4 after 18 overs: HALF CENTURY! With a four she gets to the landmark, and then hits a six next ball. Deepti Sharma has been expensive. Ash Gardner has crossed 40-plus in three straight innings.

GG 151/4 after 17 overs: A 64-m six for Gardner and that’s exactly why the boundary sizes need revision. A complete mishit from the batter and young Chopra should have had two.

GG 143/4 after 16.1 overs: WICKET! Deserving wicket for Chopra, she removes the well-set Hema. Nice flight there. Hemalatha c McGrath b Chopra 57 (33 balls)

GG 143/3 after 16 overs: A terrific six down the ground, to bring up a fine half century. Hemalatha gets to the milestone off 30 balls and celebrates it with a four next ball too. She has looked in good touch for most of GG’s 8 matches.

GG 129/3 after 15 overs: Chopra’s over starts with a four but the youngster comes back well.

GG 121/3 after 14 overs: Hemalatha is given out and she is actually walking off too, once it looks like pad first for sure. But the impact is outside off. Gardner with a four off Gayakwad, another misfield.

Misfielding being one of the three things that annoys Alyssa Healy, she can’t be too pleased with what she has seen today on the field.

GG 114/3 after 13 overs: A HUGE APPEAL FOR LBW. Given not out and that saves Hemalatha. Healy not happy. That could have been given out on field. Hema dances down and hits Deepti for a six next ball.

GG 105/3 after 12 overs: And this partnership is going along nicely for GG. A 15-run over off Ecclestone is a huge bonus. Two fours and a six for Gardner, she is on the charge again.

GG 90/3 after 11 overs: An over for Harris as if UPW don’t have enough spin options. Gardner and Hemalatha hit a four each through the offside.

GG 79/3 after 10 overs: A big positive from GG’s tournament will have to be Hemalatha’s batting. She has been regularly impressive down the order, if the Indian selectors are watching. A four and six to finish that Gayakwad over.

GG 67/3 after 9 overs: A four in that Anjali over for Hemalatha but UP have things under control now. Time for timeout.

GG 60/3 after 8 overs: Prime Ecclestone, that over. Just absolutely nothing loose. Gardner and Hemalatha under dot-ball pressure early on, but they can’t go too hard at the moment either.

GG 58/3 after 7 overs: Parshavi with a tight first over, just one four down the ground for Hemalatha.

GG 50/3 after 6 overs: WICKET! The powerplay has been turned on its head. GG are looking for a big score and have lost their top three in the powerplay. Deol c Simran b Gayakwad 4 (7 balls)

Indeed: Anjali Sarvani has caught up with Radha Yadav with 5 catches for the tournament.

Wonder if Anjali Sarvani has the most catches for a non-keeper this tournament. Won’t be far off.

GG 45/2 after 5.1 overs: WICKET! And one brings two. Both openers are gone. Similar to the fours she had hit over cover in Gayakwad’s previous over, but this one turns and the outside edge caught at short third. Dunkley c Anjali b Gayakwad 23 (13 balls)

GG 45/1 after 5 overs: A four for Harleen off the second ball she faces but a terrific over by Anjali.

GG 41/1 after 4.1 overs: WICKET! Around the wicket from Anjali and the length gets LW into a tangle. Off the pad onto the stumps. Wolvaardt b Anjali 17 (13 balls)

GG 41/0 after 4 overs: A four for Dunkley and a six for Wolvaardt to welcome Deepti into the attack. This is a terrific start.

Healy bringing out the big guns early. Deepti Sharma into the attack.

GG 29/0 after 3 overs: And that is why they needed that Ecclestone over. Just three runs. A stumping review against Dunkley, and a LBW review against Wolvaardt but no wickets. UPW lose a review.

Ecclestone brought in early perhaps after that fiery start.

GG 26/0 after 2 overs: And early signs that Gujarat have come here to mean business. Going down swinging. Two fours for Dunkley, lofted over the offside. Then a six for Wolvaardt over long on.

Time for Gayakwad’s left-arm spin.

GG 11/0 after 1 over: A signature square cut for four by Wolvaardt to kick things off. Good fielding by Navgire to stop a four off the last ball but Dunkley gets three.

Gujarat Giants, playing their 8th match, need to win and win BIG to stand any chance. They need a big total on board for starters. Dunkley and Wolvaardt in the middle. Anjali to start off with her left-arm seam.

Parshavi Chopra keeps her place in the XI for UPW:

Meet Parshavi Chopra, India’s U-19 bowler who was inspired by Shane Warne to take up leg spin

3.22 pm: Of course, we speak about GG’s batting rate. But they have been at the receiving end of Grace Harris, Shafali Verma and Sophie Devine’s knocks, and that’s why their NRR is where it is right now.

3.15 pm: Gujarat Giants’s batting has been an issue, they strike well below the rate other teams are going at. If they have to win today, their batting has to big. (If that is even part of their plans...)

Ecclestone will take solitary lead in the Purple Cap race if she picks up a wicket today.

UPW XI: Alyssa Healy (wk/c), Devika Vaidya, Kiran Navgire, Tahlia McGrath, Grace Harris, Deepti Sharma, Simran Shaikh, Sophie Ecclestone, Anjali Sarvani, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Parshavi Chopra

GG XI: Sophia Dunkley, Laura Wolvaardt, Ashleigh Gardner, Dayalan Hemalatha, Harleen Deol, Ashwani Kumari, Sushma Verma (wk), Sneh Rana (c), Kim Garth, Monica Patel, Tanuja Kanwer

Team news: Change has been constant for GG and they make one more today. Monica Patel comes in for S Meghana. UPW are unchanged.

TOSS: Sneh Rana wins the toss and opts to bat

2.55 pm: Gujarat Giants are there whey they are partly because of not able to finding right combinations and their problems began before the tournament started. And Deandra Dottin’s statement has only made it seem worse.

WPL 2023: Deandra Dottin issues statement, questioning bewildering exclusion by Gujarat Giants

02.50 pm: Hello and welcome to the live coverage of Women’s Premier League. It’s match No 17 and UP Warriorz take on Gujarat Giants in the first of double-header fixtures today.

And potentially, in the next few hours, we will know the identity of the top three that will take part in the playoffs. UP Warriorz win this match against a struggling Giants, they are through to the playoffs alongside Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals.

In their previous meeting, it was a Grace Harris special:

WPL 2023 UP Warriorz vs Gujarat Giants: Grace Harris produces a stunning knock as UPW win

TOSS: Sneh Rana opts to bat.

First innings: GG 169/6 at the end of 20 overs

Second innings: UPW 175/7 after 19.5 overs

Photos / screenshots in the blog courtesy: Sportzpics / wplt20.com and JioCinema