UPW W vs GG W: Gujarat Giants beat UP Warriorz by 10 runs in Match 2 of WPL 2026 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on January 10. It was a high-scoring game where UP came close in the chase but fell short at the end.
UP Warriorz won the toss and chose to field first. Gujarat Giants started steadily with Beth Mooney and Sophie Devine. Mooney was bowled by Sophie Ecclestone for 13, but Devine played aggressively and scored 38 before Shikha Pandey got her out. From there, captain Ashleigh Gardner took charge. She built a big partnership with debutante Anushka Sharma. Anushka impressed with 44 runs, while Gardner played the key innings, scoring 65 and bringing up her sixth WPL fifty.
Gardner attacked the spinners in the middle overs and completely shifted the momentum. Gujarat crossed 150 comfortably. After Gardner and Anushka got out, Georgia Wareham finished strongly, smashing three sixes in one over, and Bharti Fulmali added late sixes. Gujarat Giants ended with a big total of 207.
UP Warriorz had a tough target ahead. They lost Kiran Navgire early to Renuka Singh for just 1. Meg Lanning and Phoebe Litchfield then steadied the innings. Lanning rotated the strike well and crossed Ellyse Perry to become the second-highest run-scorer in WPL history. Litchfield played a brilliant knock and kept UP in the game.
The match turned in the middle overs when Georgia Wareham struck twice in one over, removing Lanning LBW and Harleen Deol for a duck. Renuka Singh then dismissed Deepti Sharma caught and bowled, and UP slipped quickly. Litchfield kept fighting and brought up her maiden WPL fifty in just 24 balls. She went on to score a superb 78 off 40 balls, hitting sixes and finding gaps with ease.
Just when UP looked back in the chase, Sophie Devine got the big wicket of Litchfield. Shweta Sehrawat tried to push the chase but was bowled by Rajeshwari Gayakwad. In the final overs, Deandra Dottin and Sophie Ecclestone gave UP some hope. Asha Sobhana hit some late runs, but Devine removed Ecclestone at a crucial moment. Bharti Fulmali took a sharp catch to dismiss Dottin, which almost sealed the game.
UP Warriorz needed too many runs in the final over and could not finish the chase. They ended 10 runs short, giving Gujarat Giants their first win of WPL 2026. Renuka Singh, Wareham, and Devine played key roles with the ball, while Ashleigh Gardner stood out as the match-winner with her batting and captaincy.
Ashleigh Gardner stars against UP Warriorz in UPW W vs GG W WPL 2026 match
Ashleigh Gardner led Gujarat Giants from the front in their opening match of WPL 2026 against UP Warriorz at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. Batting first after losing the toss, the Giants were put under early pressure when Beth Mooney was out for 13 off 12 balls. Sophie Devine followed soon after, but not before playing a quick and aggressive knock of 38 off 20 balls.
With the top order disrupted, captain Ashleigh Gardner took control of the innings. She stitched together a crucial 103-run partnership with Anushka Sharma, steadying the innings and then accelerating at the right time. Anushka played a strong supporting role, scoring 44 off 30 balls with seven fours. The highlight, however, was Gardner’s composed yet powerful knock of 65 off 41 balls, which included six fours and three sixes.
This fifty was special for Gardner, as it took her past Beth Mooney to become the Gujarat Giants player with the most half-centuries in WPL history. Gardner now has six WPL fifties in 26 innings, while Mooney has five in 19 innings. Laura Wolvaardt follows with three fifties, and Harleen Deol and Dayalan Hemalatha have two each.
Gardner’s impact for the Giants goes beyond this inning. She is now the franchise’s leading run-scorer with 632 runs at a strike rate of 143.31. She also leads their bowling charts with 25 wickets in 25 innings, underlining her importance as a true all-rounder.
For UP Warriorz, Sophie Ecclestone was the most effective bowler, finishing with figures of 2 for 32. Shikha Pandey picked up one wicket and conceded 29 runs in three overs. Deandra Dottin, playing against her former team, had a tough outing as she gave away 47 runs in four overs and took one wicket, that of Anushka Sharma.
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