Vadodara, Feb 3
Gujarat Giants captain Ashleigh Gardner admitted her side paid a heavy price for a sluggish start with the ball as Delhi Capitals cruised to a seven-wicket victory, but noted the positives from their campaign and expressed pride, stating that this is the 'most balanced side' that they've had, pointing to the emergence of young Indian talent such as Anushka Sharma, alongside experienced campaigners like Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Devine.
Despite posting a competitive 168/7, rescued by a composed Beth Mooney and a vital middle-overs partnership with Georgia Wareham, Gujarat were quickly put on the back foot by Delhi's aggressive intent in the powerplay. Lizelle Lee and Shafali Verma capitalised on anything loose, racing away to 75 runs inside the first six overs and effectively setting the tone for the chase.
"We felt like that was enough at halfway if we bowled well," Gardner said after the match. "But when you don't start the powerplay, either taking wickets or restricting runs, it brings that team in, and obviously they took the powerplay on. That's their ammo, and they did that brilliantly today."
Gardner pointed to missed execution and an inability to apply sustained pressure as decisive factors, particularly under dew-laden conditions that made control difficult. "Once the dew sets in, the ball slides on if you miss the stumps," she explained. "We just missed the stumps a little bit too much tonight and gave them too many free hits early."
Delhi never relinquished control after the opening stand, with Jemimah Rodrigues and Laura Wolvaardt calmly steering the chase through the middle overs. Though Wareham briefly revived Gujarat's hopes with two wickets, Gardner conceded her side could not maintain that momentum for long enough.
"Georgia set the tone with her first over, taking those two crucial wickets," she said. "But we just weren't able to do that for long periods of time, which is obviously really disappointing."
Earlier, Gujarat's innings had been shaped by Mooney's resilience after early setbacks. Losing Sophie Devine and then slipping to 48/3 at the end of the powerplay put pressure firmly on the Giants, before the wicketkeeper-batter and Wareham stitched together a stabilising stand.
"Probably wasn't the most ideal start. I think Mooney did a fantastic job of kind of rescuing the innings with Georgia," Ash reflected.
Despite the defeat, Gardner struck a reflective, optimistic note about the campaign as a whole, highlighting the Giants' growth and balance as a team. "This is probably the most balanced Giants side that we've had," she said.
"We've unearthed some fantastic talent. Looking at someone like Anushka Sharma, she hasn't looked out of place. 22 years old, batting 3, and what's almost like international cricket. She's, I guess, looked at home. And then you look at someone like Rajeshwari, who's come into this side and she has so much experience. And I guess talking about the Indian players, I think they're the players that almost win you these competitions. And then in saying that, someone like Sophie Devine has been fantastic throughout the whole campaign as well," the GG skipper added.
"There's so much things to be proud of. For this team, obviously, we had a pretty brutal start to the WPL. We didn't win many games, so to do back-to-back, making finals two years in a row, there's certainly plenty of positives to take out of it, but plenty of learnings as well going forward," Gardner added.
For Gujarat, the loss marked a painful end to a promising campaign, undone by Delhi's powerplay dominance and clinical chase. For Gardner and her side, the focus now shifts to retaining the core group and, as she put it, "go one better next year."
With the win, DC sealed their spot in the final of the WPL for the fourth consecutive time in as many editions.
- IANS
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