• Sophie Devine powered Royal Challengers Bangalore to a dominating win over Gujarat Giants.

  • Sophie Ecclestone shined in UP Warriorz’ thrilling win against Mumbai Indians.

WPL 2023: Sophie Devine’s 99 inspire RCB’s mega win over GG; UPW beat MI in Saturday’s double-header
RCB beat GG while UPW beat MI in Saturday's double-header (Image Source: Twitter)

The Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2023 saw an exciting double-header on Saturday where UP Warriorz defeated Mumbai Indians (MI) in the afternoon fixture while Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) got the better off Gujarat Giants (GG) in the evening game.

Bowling first, UP bundled out Mumbai for 127 in 20 overs, with opener Hayley Matthews scoring the maximum 35 off 30 balls. Sophie Ecclestone was the pick of the bowler for the Warriorz, bagging three wickets for 15 runs in her quota of 4 overs. Similarly, Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Deepti Sharma picked up two wickets each.

In the chase, Mumbai bowlers took the game to the wire keeping the Warriorz run for their money. Grace Harris with 39 off 28 and Tahlia McGrath with 38 off 25 top-scored for UP as the Alyssa Healy-led side completed the chase with three balls to spare and five wickets in hand.

The second fixture was a high-scoring encounter with both sides scoring over 180 runs in their respective innings. Batting first, the Giants posted 188/4 in 20 overs, courtesy of Laura Wolvaardt’s brilliant 68-run knock.

The massive target was gunned down easily by the Challengers as they completed the chase within 16 overs. Opener Sophie Devine destroyed the Giants’ bowling attack with her whirlwind batting exhibition.

Devine formed a scintillating 125-run opening partnership with captain Smriti Mandhana as the duo kept the run-rate high to keep their side in the chase. Devine missed out on smashing what could be a stunning century by a solitary run as she was dimsieed on 99 from just 36 deliveries, with the help of nine fours and eight sixes. The Challengers eventually finished off the proceedings in 15.3 overs with eight wickets in hand.

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AKSHAT GAUR
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