A close finish was in the offing. Gujarat Giants were stifled early in a small chase. Then came an expensive ninth over that went for three fours and a six as Ashleigh Gardner took on rookie Prema Rawat. It turned the scales the Giants way emphatically, as a tricky chase turned into a cruise.

It left RCB winless at home in three games so far this season. It also meant three sides – RCB, Giants and UP Warriorz – are now tied on four points. This lights up the prospect of a tight finish to the group stages next week in Lucknow and Mumbai.

She came into the tournament under a hip injury cloud, but her batting form didn’t seem to suggest any problem. Coming in on the back of 90*, 81, 7 and 57, Ellyse Perry was out for her first duck in her WPL career when she mistimed Gardner to Tanuja Kanwar at square leg off her fourth ball. That wicket coming on the back of Danni Wyatt-Hodge’s lbw in the first over to Deandra Dottin left RCB 16 for 2 in two overs.

It was an uneasy stay at the crease for Smriti Mandhana, repeatedly squared up and beaten on the outside edge by 21-year-old Kashvee Gautam, one of the brightest Indian fast-bowling prospects in WPL 2025. Mandhana struggled against late movement as Gautam’s first two overs went for just four. All that pressure led to a wicket at the other end when Mandhana was predictably out to spin yet again when she slog-swept Kanwar to Harleen Deol at deep midwicket for 10 off 20 balls.

During the season spent away at rehabilitation from a back injury last year, Kanila Ahunja set herself clear goals. She didn’t want to be known as a “five-ball batter” in the WPL anymore. She worked hard on her power game, shades of which were on display on Thursday as she laid into Priya Mishra, the legspinner.

She read the googly off the hand and her manner of stepping out to imperiously loft her twice in the over, including the first six of the innings, spoke volumes of her growth as a batter. Ahuja would repeat that two overs later when she stepped out to launch Gardner. Her 33 off 27 before falling to Kanwar led to another RCB slip-up. Georgia Wareham’s cameo of 20 then helped them to 125 for 7, their joint lowest total in the WPL.

Giants went with a third opening combination in five games. Dayalan Hemalatha, the latest to join the roulette, did little to repay the faith despite the backing following scores of 9, 0 and 4 in her precious three innings. Having been reprieved early when Wyatt-Hodge misjudged a catch at mid-off, she was out stumped looking to heave Renuka Singh for 11. Mandhana’s decision to bowl Renuka out up top paid dividends when Beth Mooney holed out to deep midwicket as Giants were reduced to 32 for 2 in the seventh.

A 19-run over off Rawat in the ninth turned the tide for the Giants as Gardner fed off Rawat’s inexperience, expertly using the depth of the crease to pull, while also showing her imperious driving abilities when the ball was tossed up. The surge in momentum was such that even Deol’s brain fade in trying to hit out against Wareham didn’t lead to any panic.

This didn’t affect her tempo or her propensity to be adventurous, which also greatly helped Gardner, who hit Wareham for back-to-back sixes en route to her third half-century of the season, this time off 28 balls. Gardner and Litchfield’s 51-run stand off just 36 ensured the match was won with 21 balls to spare, greatly helping Giants boost their net run rate even though they would stay fifth.

Brief scores:
Gujarat Giants Women 126 for 4 in 16.3 overs  (Beth Mooney 17, Dayalan Hemalatha 11, Ashleigh Gardner 58, Phoebe Litchfield 30*;  Renuka Singh 2-24, Georgia Wareham 2-26) beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women  125 for 7 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 10, Kanika Ahuja 33, Raghvi Bist 22, Georgia Wareham 20, Kim Garth 14; Deandra Dottin 2-31, Ashleigh Gardner 1-22, Kashvee Gautam 1-17, Tanuja Kanwar 2-16) by six wickets

[Cricinfo]