The inaugural season of the Women's Premier League has already produced some exciting contests. Even though it is still fairly early days in the competition with a possibility of a comeback, the only two sides yet to get off the mark on the points table- Gujarat Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore- are facing off at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday (March 8).
After being asked by Gujarat captain to have a bowl first, it seems like Bangalore would have to play out of their skin to taste their maiden win tonight largely due to the effort of Sophia Dunkley who smashed the quickest half-century in the tournament so far, reaching the landmark in 18 balls.
The English cricketer was in sublime touch and got out after scoring 65 off 28 which had laid the foundation for a massive Gujarat total. Her innings was studded with 11 fours and 3 sixes as she scored at a sensational strike rate of 232.14. Majorly due to her attacking innings upfront, GG scored 64 runs in the first six overs.
Later, Harleen Deol also chipped in a half-century ultimately outscoring Dunkley as she scored 67 off 45 and the Sneh Rana-led side breached the 200-run mark, setting a target of 202 for Bangalore.
Interestingly, it was Shreyanka Patil who got rid of both the GG half-centurions and finished with figures of 2 for 32 but with anything over 200 not having been chased successfully so far, it could take some effort for Bangalore to take the 2 points from this match.
Heather Knight also chipped in with a couple of wickets in her 2 overs, giving away 17 runs. Megan Schutt and Renuka Thakur Singh returned with a wicket each.