WPL Thriller: Gardner's Roller-Coaster Ride in Giants' Dramatic Final-Over Win

Bowling the penultimate over, Gardner went for 19 runs, leaving only nine for Sophie Devine to defend. Devine held her nerve in a dramatic final over to prevent Delhi Capitals from getting nine runs, sealing a thrilling three-run win for the Gujarat Giants, completing a season double. "It has been a roller coaster. We have obviously entertained the fans at the venue and on TV. My right was going to the roof through that last over," said Gardner after the match.

After posting 174/9, the Gujarat team was under immense pressure as the Delhi team prepared to enter the last over of the match with nine runs to win with Sneh Rana and Niki Prasad batting together.

Gujarat Giants reached 174/9 with an excellent overall effort from Beth Mooney in what was overall a really composed innings of 58 from 46 balls. Anushka Sharma contributed 39 off 25 balls during the middle overs with some lovely, elegant-looking shots, as Tanuja Kanwar's contributions of an unbeaten 21 off just 11 balls late in the innings helped the Giants to compile a competitive total.

Gardner felt the pitch continued to favour batters and said the Giants' total was around par. However, she conceded her side allowed Delhi Capitals back into the contest after strong bowling until the 17th over. "The wickets have got progressively better. Yesterday, 200 were almost chased down, and tonight it was almost chased down as well. Between 170 and 180 was par as well. We bowled well until the 17th over, then let them back in the game.

The skipper stressed the need for simplicity in execution, highlighting Sophie Devine's pivotal spell and her ability to vary pace, attack the stumps, and exploit a spinner-friendly surface. "For our bowlers, we need to keep it simple. We need to keep the team in play as long as possible. Finding the right lengths for change are important. It was a spinner-friendly wicket, but Sophie was really pivotal throughout her spell, making changes in pace and keeping the stumps in play as well," she said.

With this win, the Giants climb to second in the points table with a must-win match left against the Mumbai Indians on Friday. They have been on the losing side in all the matches they have played against them, but will need a victory to qualify for the playoffs.

Looking ahead, Gardner underlined the importance of consistency in tight matches and said the Giants must quickly shift focus to their next challenge against Mumbai, a side they have historically struggled against. "We have been on the winning side and losing side as well during close games. We need to be consistent. We need to win that one game to be confident in the playoffs. We play again in a couple of times. We need to switch the focus to Mumbai; we don't have a great record against them."

- IANS