Ashleigh Gardiner is among several of Australia’s biggest names to set the tone in the opening matches of India’s WPL
They may have left India empty-handed after last year’s World Cup – but a host of Australia’s top cricketers have wasted no time in hitting the ground running on their return to the country in the Women’s Premier League in Mumbai.
Ashleigh Gardner, one of the Australians’ biggest success stories before they got knocked out in the semis in the DY Patil Stadium last November, returned to the stadium on Saturday, leading from the front with a blistering captain’s knock of 65 before guiding Gujarat Giants to a 10-run victory over UP Warriorz.
Her key lieutenant was Georgia Wareham, the Aussie spinning allrounder whose thunderous three-six cameo of 27no off 10 balls at the death helped Gujarat reach their highest WPL total of 4-207.
Then Wareham (2-30) delivered a killer over, trapping fellow Aussie, the new Warriorz skipper Meg Lanning, lbw after she’d moved ominously on to 30 off 27 balls before removing Indian international Harleen Deol with a sharp caught-and-bowled a couple of balls later.
Only the dazzling talent of Phoebe Litchfield, another returning Aussie World Cup star, had stood in the way of the Giants, as she played a luxuriant innings full of weird and wonderful variety, including one preposterous switch-hit six over midwicket, before finally being outfoxed by Sophie Devine.
The veteran Kiwi came round the wicket, and the angle change resulted in the left-hander planting her inside-out drive straight down long on’s throat. Litchfield’s 78, though, featuring five sixes off 40 balls, was over double her previous WPL highest and a rare treat for all.
But there was no way back for the Warriorz after her dismissal as they fell short on 8-197, leaving Gardner to note with some relief: “Phoebs hit the ball clean from ball one.
“I’ve played a lot of cricket with and her against her so I know the talent she is and the threat she possesses. She opens up the whole ground which, as a captain and a bowler, makes it very difficult to set fields to her.
“But, thankfully, we were able to tie her over a little bit and take the wicket that sort of stalled their momentum.”
The Aussie show wasn’t finished as, in the second half of the DY Patil double header, Nicola Carey continued her blistering start to the tournament by playing a key hand in Mumbai Indians’ 50-run hammering of Delhi Capitals.
The allrounder, who didn’t go to the World Cup but is tipped to be at the next, scored a brisk 21 off 12 balls as half-centuries from her captain Harmanpreet Kaur (74no off 42) and Nat Sciver-Brunt (70 off 46) powered the home side to a formidable 4-195.
Carey (3-37) then cleaned up the off-stump of both World Cup winner Shafali Verma and South Africa skipper Laura Wolvaardt in the space of three balls to stymie the chase near the outset, before later getting rid of another danger woman Marizanne Kapp for 10.
A couple of catches in the deep completed another fine day’s work for the Hurricanes’ star, including the key one of Jamaican Chinelle Henry, whose 56 proved in vain as the Capitals succumbed for 145 with an over left.
