WPL: UP Warriorz register second win on the trot

Captain Alyssa Healy (33 off 21) and Grace Harris (60* off 33) then played power-packed knocks to help UPW chase down the target with 26 balls to spare.

Chasing 143, UPW got off to a brisk start but lost Kiran Navgire and captain Healy in the process inside the Powerplay.

Captain Alyssa Healy took the aggressive route and played some cracking shots, hitting boundaries inside the Powerplay. She took the attack to Meghna Singh, hitting four fours in the third over.

The openers added 42 before Tanuja Kanwar provided the breakthrough, sending back Navgire, caught at short third man. One brought two as Kathryn Bryce struck in the next over, cleaning up the dangerous Healy (33 off 21). Grace Harris arrived and hit two fours off her first three balls as UPW reached 59/2 at the end of the Powerplay.

Harris continued the momentum in the next over, hitting a couple of fours and a six to welcome Mannat Kashyap, taking 14 off the over.

Chamari Athapaththu, too, started off well and hit four fours in the first 10 balls. But against the run of play, she departed, slog sweeping one straight to deep square leg, off Kanwar as UPW reached 90/3 at the halfway mark. UPW lost another one soon, as Shweta Sehrawat was cleaned up by Meghna Singh.

Just when it looked like GG were slowly getting back into the match, Harris and Deepti Sharma got together, settled down a bit, and then unleashed a slew of boundaries to put UPW in the driver's seat. Harris brought up her fifty, in style with scooped four, off just 30 balls.

The pair added an unbeaten 53 runs off just 30 balls as UPW cruised to a six-wicket win. Harris remained unbeaten on 66 off 33 balls while Sharma remained not out on 17 off 14.

Earlier, UP Warriorz captain Alyssa Healy won the toss and elected to field. The Warriorz got off to a decent start as they dismissed GG captain Beth Mooney inside the Powerplay and kept things largely tight.

GG blew hot and cold in the Powerplay. Laura Wolvaardt played some delightful shots through the off side, hitting three fours in a row off Anjali Sarvani in the second over and then a couple of fours off Rajeshwari Gayakwad.

She, however, survived a tough caught and bowled chance as Harris couldn't hold on to a low catch before Sophie Ecclestone struck in her first over to send back Mooney. GG managed 40/1 in the Powerplay, hitting just six fours.

The UPW bowlers bowled with accuracy and discipline, and conceded just one four from the 6th to the 9th over. The pressure got to Wolvaardt (28 off 26) and she departed in the 10th over, caught at mid off, as the Giants reached 62/2 at the halfway mark.

Phoebe Litchfield finally released the pressure valve in the 11th over, as she scored the first boundary after 23 balls and followed it with another four off the next ball. But Harleen Deol, who couldn't get going, looked to switch gears and walked back two overs later, top-edging one to short third man off Gayakwad.

By the end of the 14th over, GG had played 37 dot balls. The pressure was palpably building, and it could have brought another wicket, but Deepti Sharma dropped Litchfield in the deep as she top-edged her reverse sweep on 19.

Gardner, who arrived with a positive mindset, took the aggressive approach, hitting the first six of the innings. She, however, got a lifeline as Healy missed her stumping on 21. Litchfield then cracked another rare six to bring up the 50-run stand as the two added 40 from the last three overs, including 19 from the Deepti Sharma over.

Ecclestone, though, came back to jolt GG again as she had the dangerous Gardner (30 off 17) caught at short fine leg and then a brilliant direct hit from Saima Thakor sent back Litchfield (35 off 26) in the same over.

It was a superb penultimate over from Ecclestone, as she conceded just three and finished with brilliant figures of 3/20. Athapaththu followed it up with an excellent final over, giving away just four as UPW restricted GG to 142/5.