WPL: Sophie Ecclestone spins web, Grace Harris takes UP Warriorz to victory
Hindustan TimesHaving started the 2024 Women’s Premier League with two losses, the UP Warriorz are finally finding their feet with their big names clicking as the tournament heads into the midway stage. UP Warriorz' Grace Harris plays a shot during a WPL 2024 match vs Gujarat Giants Sophie Ecclestone spun a web with the ball and Grace Harris went hammer and tongs with the bat as the Alyssa Healy-led outfit clinched their second successive win as they beat Gujarat Giants by six wickets at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday. Put in by Warriorz, Laura Wolvaardt and skipper Beth Mooney, also the world No.1 T20I batter, gave the Giants a slow but steady start as spinner Chamari Athapaththu kept them from scoring quickly with the first six overs yielding only 41 runs. Ecclestone would have bagged her fourth had Deepti Sharma not dropped Gardner at third man but that partnership was good enough to take Giants to 142/5 — their highest total in WPL 2024. Though they lost Kiran Navgire, Healy, Athapaththu and Shweta Sehrawat, Australian Grace Harris gave Warriorz the solidity they needed in the middle order with a fine knock.