Vadodara (Gujarat) [India], February 4 : Following Gujarat Giants (GG)'s loss to Delhi Capitals (DC) in the Women's Premier League (WPL) eliminator, former Indian cricketer Mithali Raj said that she would have loved to see more contributions coming from Indian talent for the Ashleigh Gardner-led side, particularly the uncapped ones.
After being reduced to 59/4 on being put to bat first by DC, GG pulled off a remarkable fight-back courtesy some fireworks from Georgia Wareham and a fighting half-century by Beth Mooney to take the side to 168/7, but their bowling, which had been looked superb for the past three games and had produced some close finishes, left too much to be desired. With this, a title clash between DC and the 2024 champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), is set, with DC aiming for the first-ever WPL title and RCB aiming for a WPL-IPL double.
Speaking on 'Match Centre Live', JioStar expert Mithali credited skipper Gardner for improvement in captaincy after leading the team to two playoff finishes in two successive seasons, but was left slightly underwhelmed by Indian talent.
"You have got Sophie Devine performing with both bat and ball. We have seen Beth Mooney, in crunch situations, grind it out and score a fifty. I would have loved to see a little more contribution from the Indian uncapped players for the Giants. Yes, young Anushka Sharma has been very impressive. Coming in at number three, she's been able to score those 30s and 40s. From the lower order, Tanuja Kanwar perhaps needed to take more wickets," she added.
"Kashvee (Gautam) and Renuka (Singh Thakur) were good in Navi Mumbai, but when conditions are not suitable, that is when you have to take up the challenge and either get wickets or be economical, which we haven't really seen in Vadodara. Kanika Ahuja, when playing as a pure batter, needs to step up and score runs when the team requires. That is something the Giants will perhaps look into. Overall, the reliance on overseas players has been a lot more," she continued.
In seven matches, Anushka scored 177 runs at an average of 25.28, with a strike rate of 129.19 and a best score of 44. On the other hand, Bharti started off fine in Navi Mumbai, with 95 runs in four innings, but could manage just 24 runs in the next nine innings.
While Tanuja played a couple of useful cameos with the bat, she has gone wicketless this entire WPL. Pacer Kashvee did take eight wickets in nine matches, but her average (34.62) and economy rate (9.55) are on the higher side. With seven wickets in nine matches at an average of 31.28 and an economy rate of 8.11, Renuka has not had the greatest WPL either, especially as one of the senior-most bowlers in the team.
Scoring just 71 runs in seven innings at an average of above 10, with 35 as her best score, it has been mostly a downer season for Kanika Ahuja, the spin bowling all-rounder.
Mithali hailed the partnership of 68 runs for the third wicket between Laura Wolvaardt and skipper Jemimah Rodrigues, just after Lizelle Lee and Shafali Varma had come all guns blazing with a quickfire 89-run stand and reducing a potentially challenging chase to a cakewalk by understanding that all they had to do wasplay run a ball and taking the equation closer during a 169-run chase.
"I think both Jemimah and Laura Wolvaardt understood what they needed to do when they walked in. They were pretty new batters at the crease, but the openers had already made half the job easy by scoring at a run- rate way above the required rate. All they had to do was play run-a-ball. Even then, there is always the pressure of an Eliminator. It is a knockout. You want to have the mindset of taking your team across, which Jemimah did. She also stuck with Laura Wolvaardt. Both of them made sure the equation got closer and closer, and Gujarat Giants just could not come back," she added.
Coming to the GG-DC match, DC won the toss and elected to bowl first and reduced the Giants to 59/4 in 8.4 overs. Beth Mooney (62* in 51 balls, with six fours) had a 61-run partnership with fellow Aussie Georgia Wareham (35 in 25 balls, with three fours and a six), which provided some stability to the innings. Mooney was also involved in a late flourish with Kashvee Gautam (18 in 10 balls, with three fours), taking GG to 168/7. Chinelle Henry (3/35 in four overs) was the pick of the bowlers for DC.
In the run-chase, Lizelle Lee (43 in 24 balls, with eight fours and a six) and Shafali Verma (31 in 21 balls, with seven fours) set a fiery foundation for the chase with an 89-run stand in just 7.1 overs. Later, Wolvaardt (32* in 24 balls, with two fours and a six) had a quickfire 68-run third wicket stand with skipper Jemimah Rodrigues (41 in 23 balls, with four boundaries and a six), while Marizanne Kapp (4*) produced the winning runs with three wickets and 26 balls in hand.
Skipper Jemimah took home the 'Player of the Match' award, and her side will play 2024 champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the title clash on Thursday at Vadodara.