Grace Harris made a powerful fifty to help UP Warriorz negate a sluggish surface to register a facile six-wicket win over Gujarat Giants in their Women’s Premier League match here on Friday.
Harris (60 not out, 33 balls, 9x4, 2x6) and skipper Alyssa Healy (33, 21 balls, 7x4) helped Warriorz hunt down a target of 143 in 15.4 overs for their second win in the tournament.
The Giants were restricted to 142/5 after left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone (3/20) used a rough deck to her advantage. Harris gave the finishing touches.
Harris, the diminutive Australian, smashed pacer Meghana Singh for three successive fours in the third over as the Warriorz reached 33 in just three overs, which they later swelled to 69/2 in the Powerplay section.
The Giants tried to stage a comeback when they removed Healy, Chamari Athapaththu and Shweta Sehrawat to reduce the Warriorz to 90/4 in the 11th over. But Harris and Deepti Sharma (17 not out) chased down the remaining 53 runs in just 30 balls to shut out the Giants.
Earlier, the Giants reached 41/1 in the Powerplay, but lost way thereafter. A 52-run partnership between Phoebe Litchfield (35) and Ashleigh Gardner (30) boosted their total, but it wasn’t enough.
Brief scores: Gujarat Giants 142/5 in 20 ovs (Phoebe Litchfield 35; Sophie Ecclestone 3/20). UP Warriorz 143/4 in 15.4 ovs (Grace Harris 60 n.o., Alyssa Healy 33). Warriorz won by 6 wkts.
