It was runs galore at the Brabourne Stadium continuing the trend of high-scoring matches in Mumbai on Wednesday, March 8. Gujarat Giants (GG) batters Sophia Dunkley and Harleen Deol powered their side to a par 201 against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their Women's Premier League (WPL) match while the bowlers restricted their opponents to just 190 runs to secure their first win of the competition.
Dunkley began the assault in the powerplay itself, taking just 18 balls to reach her maiden WPL half-century, which is also now the fastest half-century of the tournament. While she was the aggressor, her opening partner Sabbhineni Meghana continued her poor form, being dismissed for eight runs.
In came Harleen, who kept rotating the strike as Dunkley regularly found the boundary regularly. The Englishwoman tore into the RCB bowling attack to make 65 off just 28 balls with 11 fours and three sixes, getting her runs at a strike rate of 232.1 at the top.
Harleen also brought up her maiden WPL fifty as well, finishing at 67 from 45 balls with nine boundaries and one six. However, Shreyanka Patil ended Dunkley's hitting after she forced her to hit one straight to Heather Knight at long off.
Harleen and Ashleigh Gardner (19) then brought up a half-century stand as the out-of-favour India batter took charge and picked up from where Dunkley left off. Knight then ended Gardner's innings but Dayalan Hemalatha (16) and Annabel Sutherland (14) added some valuable runs in quick time to help Gujarat cross the 200-run mark.
With a tough total to chase down, the onus was on the openers of Bangalore to score big. While Smriti Mandhana (18) failed to get going once again, Sophie Devine took charge of the innings and scored big. But the New Zealander did not receive any support post the wicket of Ellyse Perry (32).
The usually dangerous Richa Ghosh (10) also flopped once again but Knight contributed with the bat, much like she has been for her side this season. In the end, Sutherland bundled Devine to effectively end their chances and despite a late onslaught from budding star Shreyanka Patil, Bangalore fell short by 11 runs to succumb to their third straight loss in this competition.
