Gujarat Giants defeated UP Warriors by 6 wickets in the third match of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025 played at Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara.
The stormy batting of captain Ashleigh Gardner and the all-round performance of Deandra Dottin, Gujarat achieved the target of 144 runs in just 18 overs.
UP’s slow start and Deepti’s struggle
The decision to bowl first after winning the toss in the match proved right for Gujarat. The UP team looked under pressure from the beginning and wickets kept falling continuously. Captain Deepti Sharma played a fighting innings of 39 runs, but she did not get much support from the other end. Apart from Uma Chettri (24 runs) and Alana King (19 runs), no batsman could play consistently.
Gujarat bowler Priya Mishra performed brilliantly and took 3 wickets for 25 runs. Dottin and Gardner also took 2-2 wickets. Kashvi Gautam bowled economically, giving only 15 runs in 4 overs and taking 1 wicket.
Gardner-Dottin’s explosive partnership
Gujarat’s team, which came out to chase the target, suffered setbacks in the beginning. Beth Mooney and Hemalatha were out early. But captain Ashleigh Gardner took charge and handled the innings along with Harleen Deol. Gardner scored 52 runs in 32 balls with the help of 5 fours and 3 sixes.
When Gardner was out, Deandra Dottin took charge and batted explosively. She scored an unbeaten 33 runs in just 18 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes. Harleen Deol also played a brilliant innings of 34 runs and led the team to victory.
WPL 2025 – 3rd Match GG vs UPW Scorecard
Venue: Kotambi Stadium, Vadodara
Winner: Gujarat Giants Women won by 6 wickets
UP Warriors – 143/9 (20 Ovs)
Deepti Sharma – 39 (27), 6 fours
Uma Chetry – 24 (27), 4 fours
Alana King – 19 (14), 2 fours, 1 six
Best Bowlers (Gujarat Giants):
Priya Mishra – 3/25
Deandra Dottin – 2/34
Ashleigh Gardner – 2/39
Gujarat Giants – 144/4 (18 Overs)
Ashleigh Gardner – 52 (32), 5 fours, 3 sixes
Harleen Deol – 34 (30), 4 fours
Deandra Dottin – 33* (18), 3 fours, 2 sixes
Best Bowlers (UP Warriors):
Sophie Ecclestone – 2/16
Tahlia McGrath – 1/21
Gujarat sealed the victory with 2 overs to spare, powered by Gardner’s explosive fifty!
WPL 2025 GG vs UPW, Statement after the match
Ashleigh Gardner is the Player of the Match for her brilliant fifty which set the match up for the win, here is what she said:
Yeah very pleased. We were that far off the other game. To get our first win at home is super special. I think there’s always things to improve. Our bowlers were brilliant. Priya Mishra to get those two big wickets. With the bat I had a clean plan and the first innings helped me. The stumps hopefully, I feel I have missed a few in the first two games as far as hitting the stumps are concerned. If you any spinner who bowled well today attacked the stumps for longer time. It’s about individual assessment. You see Dottin clear her front leg and smashing, then Harleen loves the ball coming into the bat. Then Beth Mooney sets the platform up in order. We have a great depth in the batting order which has helped us.
Deandra Dottin (Gujarat Giants):
(On the Kiran Navgire dismissal) To be honest, I remembered the Women’s T20 Challenge final and executed it. I knew they were 30-odd runs short and that gave us the confidence to chase it down. I was looking to finish the game, never want to leave it late if all things go wrong. Pick the length and hit the ball. I was the missing piece for their WPL as a whole. I was watching the ball nicely and trying to be as consistent as possible. I don’t think we were nervous, Ash was assessing the pitch and conditions closely looking to carry us as much ahead as possible.
Deepti Sharma (captain, UP Warriorz):
The way the wicket was behaving, I believe had our batting unit stepped up and we had a few partnerships, we could have got to 170-180. Our bowling strength, Sophie, myself, everyone has done well despite dew affecting play. On some deliveries, we weren’t able to execute our shots well. We’ll look to improve it in the coming games
