Deol 70*, Meghna three-for lift Giants to No. 2
Giants' win knocks out UP Warriorz from the playoffs race
Giants' win knocks out UP Warriorz from the playoffs race
Scorer: M Venkat Raghav | Commentator: Shashwat Kumar
11:17pm That will be a wrap from us for tonight. We hope you enjoyed our coverage and tomorrow, we will be back with more WPL action as the UP Warriorz look to knock out the defending champions. Until then, this is me (Shashwat) signing off on behalf of Venkat Raghav and everyone else at ESPNcricinfo. Goodnight and take care!
Harleen Deol, Player of the Match: After winning the game, you feel very pleased after scoring runs for the team. When I was batting, the ball was not coming nicely onto the bat, so was just trying to play till the end. I knew we had batters to come, and they did what they had to do at that time. (Partnership and running between the wickets with Mooney) When you are batting with her, you just have to hit it and run. She closes her eyes and sprints for the run, so it is easier with her. When she hits boundaries, she also gets singles, so you keep getting the strike (smiles). When Kashvee came in, I knew she is good at hitting sixes. I told her that Shikha di would bowl at the stumps and that the ball was keeping low, so to just close her eyes and hit straight, and she will hit a six. When you are scoring runs and the team is winning, that is what you dream as a player. Just want to contribute to the team, whether it be while batting, bowling or fielding.
Ashleigh Gardner, Gujarat Giants captain: Delhi were probably on for 200 after the powerplay, did a good job to peg them back. 180 we felt was probably a par score. Felt that if we gave ourselves a chance, built partnerships, we had a chance (to chase it down). Different people stood up today. Meghna for example. She has not had the overs she would have wanted. So pleased for her, she has put in a lot of hard work and to see that happen in the field, that is pleasing to see. TK (Tanuja Kanwar) also, does not let them (the batters) score easily, and Deandra as well. There are still things to work on. (On not bowling herself at the death) I don't think off-spin was the right match-up to the righties. Tonight, people stood up at different points and those bowling at the death did a good job, so I was not needed. (On Deol) She has played some different roles throughout the tournament and she has adapted, which is nice to see. She struck the ball beautifully, hit to different areas and to see her take the bowlers on and play positive cricket was awesome to see.
11:01pm This result means that the UP Warriorz are now out of contention. It also puts the defending champions RCB in a tough spot, who now need to win both of their remaining games and need to overhaul the Giants or the Mumbai Indians on NRR.
Meg Lanning, Delhi Capitals captain: That is how this tournament goes. We knew it was going to be a difficult game. Full credit to Gujarat, they put us under pressure and were too good in the end. We lost wickets throughout the innings and that stalled us. We felt it was going to get better and we felt we were 15-20 short (of where we wanted to be). It was nice to contribute tonight, but would have loved to get the win. Some really good stuff (from the team) and we now look forward to the playoffs. It is going to play a really crucial part in the tournament. The effort was there tonight. Just about doing the basics as often as you can. We have a few days to reset and see how the rest of the tournament unfolds, which looks like it will be exciting. No, not at all. We have to play two great games, that is what we are looking forward to. About putting our best foot forward. Exciting competition that is still pretty open and we will see who we come up against.
Deandra Dottin: I was really confident. Once I stepped out on the field, I knew the pressure was on DC. Just a matter of taking advantage of being on top and knowing what they were actually going to bowl. I knew Jess was going to slow down her pace and Shikha was going to bowl cross-seam. I played a bit too early but I would have gone for it (the shot that got her out) again. We have played superb. The girls are training hard and are hungry. We continue to play fearless cricket and just be confident and positive.
10:55pm Wow. A proper rollercoaster of a game. Until the very end, it was tough to pinpoint who would triumph, but when push came to shove, the Giants just had enough firepower to blow the Capitals out of the water. They won by five wickets and throughout their chase, their batting riches came through, which could yet be crucial as they prepare for potentially their maiden playoff appearance.
Deol was front and centre of this remarkable run-chase, with Mooney, Gardner and Dottin all doing their bit. Gautam was not shabby either when thrown into the deep end at the death, and these performances will give the Giants confidence that they can take down any opposition in the WPL, even when the stakes are at its crest.
The Capitals, who have already qualified, will feel they missed out on rubber-stamping a spot in the final. They had their moments, especially with six overs left but could not close out the game as clinically as they usually do. Pandey was perhaps the pick of their bowlers, and they will want to use this game as a learning curve for the challenges that lie ahead.
Just two more needed. Jonassen stays over the wicket
GG only need seven off the final over and DC can have only three outside the ring because of an over-rate penalty. Jonassen to bowl, from over the wicket and she is on a hat-trick
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Giants' win knocks out UP Warriorz from the playoffs race
Capitals are already through to the playoffs, but will look to end the round-robin stage with a win