Gardner Rues Dropped Catches, Underbowling After GG's WPL Loss to MI

A ruthless Harmanpreet Kaur, with partnerships alongside Amanjot Kaur and Nicola Carey, led MI to their second-successive WPL win after the loss to RCB in their campaign opener, pushing them to the second spot in the table. However, Harmanpreet's brilliant 71* did not come without her chances as her catches were dropped by GG's fielders.

Speaking during the post-match presentation, Gardner said, "I think it's obviously pretty cliche, but catches sometimes win matches. I think what we prided ourselves on in the first two games was how we fielded, and tonight you just can't afford to drop chances, especially against some of the best players in the world. Unfortunately for us, we've played three really tight games, and tonight we're on the losing side, which is disappointing. I mean, if you look at the stats, I probably do not match up overly well against Harmanpreet. She's probably had the better of me over my international career."

Gardner utilised a total of seven bowling options during the total defence, but gave just one over to herself, giving away 10 runs. Only Renuka Singh and Kashvee Gautam completed four over quota.

"As a captain, sometimes you do have a tendency to underutilise yourself. I had about eight bowling options, so at the time I felt there were better match-ups than myself. That said, hindsight is a wonderful thing. Maybe I was the better option, but I can say that standing here after a loss. If we had won, I probably would have made all the right bowling choices. So yes, I could have bowled more overs, but I also felt I wasn't the right match-up at that point," she added on her lack of overs with the ball.

She was appreciative of the firepower of her team's middle-order, especially teammate Georgia Wareham and Indian uncapped batter Bharti Fulmali.

"I think the best thing about our side is the amount of firepower we have in the middle. Fulmali in particular, we have seen what she has been able to do. She sets up her innings really well and is then able to clear the boundaries at the back end. We also know what Webb (Wareham) is capable of. So for them, it's really pleasing that they can finish innings strongly. I felt like 193 was a winning target, but like I said earlier, when you do not take your chances, you tend to pay for it," she added.

On the decision to retire out batter Ayushi Soni, the debutant who scored a sluggish 14-ball 11, she said, "After our batting innings, I went straight up to her (Ayushi Soni) and told her that it was a team decision. She nodded her head, but I am sure she was extremely disappointed. At that moment, we needed boundaries regularly. We wanted someone who could run well between the wickets and then clear the ropes at the end. It is obviously really tough for her. It was her first game in the WPL, and there would have been nerves. But she made the team play. I thought we finished the innings really well. It just was not our night tonight," he added.

Earlier, put to bat first, GG scored 192/5 in 20 overs, on the back of strong performances from Georgia Wareham (43* in 33 balls, with four boundaries and a six) and Bharti Fulmali (36* in 15 balls, with three fours and three sixes).

During the run-chase, after two quick wickets, skipper Harmanpreet (71* in 43 balls, with seven fours and two sixes), Amanjot Kaur (40 in 26 balls, with seven fours) and Nicola Carey (38* in 23 balls, with six fours) took down GG bowlers brutally to end the chase with four balls and seven scalps left. This is their eighth win in eight matches against GG.

- ANI