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Devine, Gayakwad take Gujarat to easy win over Warriorz

cricket22 January 2026 18:00| © MWP
By:Patrick Compton
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Gujarat Giants took a big step towards the Tata WPL playoffs when they comfortably beat a disappointing UP Warriorz by 45 runs at the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara on Thursday night.

It was Gujarat’s first home win and shot them up to second on the log with six points.

The Warriorz, on the other hand, stay rooted with four points as their run of two consecutive victories came to a halt.

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Chasing 154 for victory after they restricted Gujarat to 153-8 on a low, slow pitch that generally favoured the spinners, the Warriorz looked fragile with the bat.

The visitors only looked comfortable when their prime Aussie pair of Meg Lanning and Phoebe Litchfield were at the crease, adding 37 for the second wicket.

But Lanning was unfortunate to be bowled by Kashvee Gautam off her thigh pad with the ball going well down the leg side before changing direction.

The first wicket to fall also owed much to (bad) luck with Kiran Navgire missing a delivery from pacer Renuka Singh down the legside before it hit wicketkeeper Beth Mooney on the shin, the ball redirecting onto the stumps with Navgire out of her ground.

The left-handed Litchfield played some typically aggressive and daring strokes in her innings before playing her favourite reverse sweep off Ash Gardner once too often, clipping the ball to Renuka Singh at backward point.

Thereafter left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad ripped the heart out of the lower middle-order, taking 3-6 at one point as the innings fell away in some disarray.

There was some brave late hitting by South African allrounder Chloe Tryon who struck an unbeaten 30 in 22 balls (3x4s, 1x6), but there was little she could do to avert defeat with Sophie Devine finishing off the match with the wickets of Sophie Ecclestone and Kranti Gaud to complete an excellent all-round performance from the Kiwi who had earlier rescued the Gujarat innings with an unbeaten 50.

DEVINE INTERVENTION

Earlier, opener Beth Mooney and Devine were the mainstays of the Gujarat innings of 153-8 with Mooney scoring 38, including five fours, and Devine, who enjoyed some fortune, going to an unbeaten 50 (2x4s, 3x6s) off the final ball of the innings.

Devine was dropped by Litchfield on the midwicket boundary – a sitter by the Aussie’s high standards – but she recovered to throw the ball back to legspinner Asha Sobhane who broke the wicket with the other batter Bharti Fulmali out of her ground after she lost concentration.

Then, in the final over delivered by pacer Shikha Pandey, Devine was well caught on the midwicket boundary by Litchfield but, unfortunately for the Warriorz, Pandey had overstepped.

The free hit was smacked for six by Devine with a total of 16 coming off the over.

The Warriorz generally bowled well, with pacer Kranti Gaud, who bowled her full spell up front, claiming 2-18, comprising the scalps of Danni Wyatt-Hodge – bowled off-stump – and Anushka Sharma who edged a square cut to wicketkeeper Schweta Sehrawat.

Left-arm spinner Ecclestone was her usual immaculate self, claiming the key wicket of Mooney, well caught low down at mid-off by Kiran Navgire, and Kashvee Gautam, bowled attempting to pull a quicker delivery.

Offspinner Deepti Sharma chipped in with the wicket of Gardner, bowled after being in two minds over what shot to play.

Tryon did claim a wicket, but generally bowled too short and was hit for 32 in her four overs.

GUJARAT GIANTS: Beth Mooney (wk), Sophie Devine, Danni Wyatt-Hodge Anushka Sharma, Ashleigh Gardner (capt), Kanika Ahuja, Bharti Fulmali, Kashvee Gautam, Happy Kumari, Renuka Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad

UP WARRIORZ: Kiran Navgire, Meg Lanning (capt), Phoebe Litchfield, Harleen Deol, Shweta Sehrawat (wk), Chloe Tryon, Deepti Sharma, Sophie Ecclestone, Asha Sobhana, Shikla Pandey, Kranti Gaud

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