Ashleigh Gardner and Harleen Deol. (Photo Source: WPL)
Match 3 of the 2025 edition of the Women’s Premier League was won by Gujarat Giants by a margin of six wickets with a couple of overs to spare at the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara.
The opening duo of Kiran Navgire and Dinesh Vrinda did not last long. UP Warriorz’s skipper, Deepti Sharma, walked out to bat on the fourth delivery of the third over itself. The Warriorz ended the powerplay with 41 on the board. Uma Chetry’s scratchy 27-ball 24-run knock came to an end on the final delivery of the midway stage.
A double-wicket over by Priya Mishra seemed to have thrown the innings off track. Tahlia McGrath was dismissed for a silver duck with a delivery which slid through quicker than she anticipated. Two balls later, Grace Harris was castled, with the young 20-year-old leg-spinner delighted with the dismissal. The Warriorz found themselves five-down in 11 overs.
A stunning effort by Ashleigh Gardner at mid-off brought about the end of Deepti as well. Shweta Sehrawat was bowled by Gardner in the subsequent over. After Kashvee Gautam castled Sophie Ecclestone, things looked quite dim for the visitors. However, 26 runs coming off the final two overs brought some sort of weightage to the scoreboard.
In pursuit of 144, the Giants could not have gotten off to a more disastrous start. Their top-order batters had gotten dismissed within the first couple of overs. However, Gardner pulled things back with a 21-run over off Saima Thakor. The Giants ended up with the same score as their opponents after the first six overs. Sophie Ecclestone got rid of Laura Wolvaardt in the ninth over. Gardner was back to the shed shortly after registering her second-consecutive WPL fifty.
Out came Deandra Dottin to accompany Harleen Deol in the middle. The two expertly blended aggression with resourcefulness to forge together an unbeaten 58-run stand to steer their team to victory with ease. There were a few instances of misfielding during the second innings which ultimately came back to haunt the Warriorz at the end.
Also Check: Video of the Day: Deepti Sharma departs courtesy stunning running effort from Ashleigh Gardner
Check out how X reacted to Match 3 of WPL 2025:
My player of the match..The big star in the making, Priya Mishra. 3 huge wickets of Tahlia McGrath, Grace Harris & Deepti Sharma! 4/25/3. Made it impossible for UP warriors to get over 150. With dew, tough to protect that. Simply said : Match winning performance! #TATAWPL
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) February 16, 2025
Deandra Dottin making her presence well & truly felt in WPL
Striking at 187 in this edition with 9 boundaries in just 31 balls
If she keeps this up, Gujarat Giants might just be in the playoffs for the 1st time #WPL #WPL2025 #GGvUPW
— Mohit Shah (@mohit_shah17) February 16, 2025
Sophie Ecclestone again starting a WPL season with a very good spell
2/16 in her 4 overs today and the all time leading wicket taker in WPL continues to pose problems aplenty#WPL #WPL2025 #GGvUPW
— Mohit Shah (@mohit_shah17) February 16, 2025
Priya Mishra dismissed Tahlia McGrath and Grace Harris in a single over#WPL2025
pic.twitter.com/hW2gxUUDyx— ཌI°•ѴƖѴᏋᏦ•°Iད (@Vivekkeshwani8) February 16, 2025
Priya Mishra dismissed Tahlia McGrath and Grace Harris in a single over. 🤯pic.twitter.com/QDDlr3E3CN
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) February 16, 2025
Well done 👏
Gujarat Giants won first match of the WPL 25 🙌 #WPL #WPLonJioStar pic.twitter.com/G4cmgl5iIr
— Dilbag Koundal ਦਿਲਬਾਗ ਕੌਂਡਲ 🇮🇳 (@dilbag_koundal) February 16, 2025
Priya Mishra shines in WPL 2025! The 20-year-old Gujarat Giants bowler takes 3 crucial wickets, including Tahlia McGrath & Grace Harris, to restrict UP Warriorz to 143.
— Rajat (@Rajatvk18) February 16, 2025