Making her Women’s Premier League (WPL) debut in the absence of an injured Anushka Sharma, Gujarat Giants’ Ayushi Soni had a forgettable outing on January 13. In the clash against Mumbai Indians (MI), Soni became the first player to be retired out in WPL history.
Soni walked out to bat after Kanika Ahuja fell for an 18-ball 35 on the first ball of the 11th over. Soni struggled to get going. It put Georgia Wareham under pressure as well. After the 16th over, she had scored 11 runs from 14 balls. Gujarat Giants had a score of 136/4 on the board and they felt the need to make a chance. Soni was retired out to make way for Bharti Fulmali.
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The coach had a word with Soni as she walked off the field. After Fulmali had two reviews going her way, the decision to send her in the slog overs worked in Giants' favour. In the final over, she went berserk. She hit Amanjot Kaur for a four and two sixes. Her unbeaten 15-ball 36 helped Giants post 192/5. On the other end, Wareham scored 43 runs from 33 balls.
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But, the target of 193 wasn't enough to stop a rampant Harmanpreet Kaur. Her unbeaten 43-ball 71, supported by Nicola Carey's 23-ball 38 helped MI get over the line with seven wickets in hand and four balls to spare.
Gardner reveals what she said to Soni
After the match, Giants skipper Ashleigh Gardner revealed that she had a conversation with Soni during the innings break. She admitted that it was tough on the 25-year-old.
“After our batting innings, I went straight up to her (Ayushi Soni) and told her that it was a team decision. She nodded her head, but I’m sure she was extremely disappointed. At that moment, we needed boundaries regularly. We wanted someone who could run well between the wickets and then clear the ropes at the end. It’s obviously really tough for her. It was her first game in the WPL, and there would’ve been nerves. But she made the team play. I thought we finished the innings really well. It just wasn’t our night tonight,” Gardner said in the post-match presentation.
This was Giants' first defeat from three games. They are placed third on the points table. Their next clash is against table toppers Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on January 16.