Chinelle Henry’s record fifty, Grace Harris’ hat-trick, and Kranti Goud’s 4-fer headline UP Warriorz first season win

The visitors Mumbai Indians stunned the home side led by skipper Smriti Mandhana to hand their first defeat of the ongoing 3rd edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL). The Capitals led by skipper Meg Lanning were up against the UP Warriorz led by skipper Deepti Sharma in the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru.

The last time these two sides were facing each other in Vadodara, the 29-year-old all-rounder from the Caribbean Chinelle Henry dazzled on her WPL debut with a breezy innings (33* off 15 balls) with the bat for her side, her knock included three boundaries and three maximums, striking at a mind-blowing strike rate of 220, providing the finishing touches for the UP Warriorz. However, the Deepti Sharma-led side ended up on the losing side by seven wickets, which they were keen on turning things around in a repeat clash in Bengaluru.

Chenille Henry comes to the rescue with a lightning half-century

The Warriorz lacked substantial partnership at the top of the order as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals and the Capitals’ bowlers delivered on their skipper Meg Lanning’s call to bowl first on winning the toss as they were all over Warriorz batting line-up. The Deepti Sharma-led side were in a precarious position in the game at 89/6 in the 14th over of the innings.

The 29-year-old Caribbean all-rounder Chinelle Henry had other ideas as she not only bailed her side out, courtesy of her fearless approach, but also led one of the most remarkable counterattacks in the history of the tournament as she notched up the joint fastest half-century off just 18 balls, equaling the previous best of Sophia Dunkley (19 balls) in the brief history of the WPL.

The 20-run (off 12 balls) 7th wicket partnership between Chinelle Henry and Tahlia McGrath (24 off 23 balls), followed by another lightning quick 57-run (off 22 balls) partnership between Henry and Sophie Ecclestone infused life and provided the much-needed momentum to the UP Warriorz innings. The Warriorz ended up with a solid total of 177/9 in their quota of 20 overs.

Chenille Henry’s whirlwind innings (62 off 23 balls) at a monstrous strike rate of 269.57, including as many as 8 sky-rocketing sixes launched deep into the stands and a couple of boundaries en route to her momentum-shifting knock for her side. Jess Jonassen (4-0-31-4) and Marizanne Kapp (4-0-18-2) were the stand-out performers with the ball, while Arundhati Reddy (4-0-52-2) and Shikha Pandey (4-0-39-1) were also amongst wickets.

Grace Harris hat-trick triumphs over Jemimah Rodrigues half-century

Despite the momentum on the Warriorz side, the Deepti Sharma-led side were unable to pounce on multiple opportunities in the field defending a total of 178. Skipper Meg Lanning was left shell-shocked courtesy of an unplayable in-swing delivery by the 21-year-old youngster Kranti Goud, that shattered the stumps to provide the massive first breakthrough for the Warriorz in the powerplay.

Shafali Verma eventually ran out of luck as she was caught in the deep by Saima Thakor in the 9th over of the chase to provide Kranti Goud and her side with the 2nd breakthrough. Marizanne Kapp joined Jemimah Rodrigues at the crease and Jemimah switched gears to launch a counterattack keeping the Capitals on track in the run chase with a crucial 33-run partnership (off just 18 balls) for the 3rd wicket in double quick time.

Chenille Henry who was having a dream day on the field removed the dangerous Marizanne Kapp to provide the 3rd breakthrough for the Warriorz in the 11th over of the run chase. Jemimah Rodrigues kept losing partners at the other as she tried her best to keep the run chase alive for the Capitals with a gritty half-century. Kranti Goud returned and landed a decisive blow by sending Jemimah Rodrigues back to the pavilion (56 off 35 balls) in the 15th over of the run chase.

A cameo from Niki Prasad (18 off 10 balls) and Shikha Pandey (15 off 13 balls) saved the blemishes in terms of their net rate, however, it wasn’t enough to give those two crucial points as they were bundled out for 144 with three balls to spare. The Warriorz skipper Deepti Sharma turned to her golden arm in Grace Harris, and she cleaned up the tail with an epic hattrick in the final over of the chase.

Harris became only the 2nd UP Warriorz bowler after skipper Deepti Sharma, who achieved the landmark moment in the previous edition of the tournament. She is also only the 3rd bowler to take a hattrick in the WPL. Issy Wong (Mumbai Indians) was the first one to do so in the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2023. The bowlers are making their presence felt in the WPL by claiming a hat-trick in each edition of the landmark tournament.

The 21-year-old youngster Kranti Goud announced herself in the WPL with her game-defining spell (4-0-25-4), her fellow teammate Grace Harris (2.3-0-15-4) took full advantage of the pressure build by her to claim her four-wicket haul which also included a hattrick, which eventually sealed the first victory for the Deepti Sharma-led UP Warriorz with a comprehensive margin of 33 runs to register their first points on the points table.

Chenille Henry was awarded the Player of the Match for her blockbuster all-round show. She single-handedly titled the game in her side’s favour with a breath-taking innings (62 off 23 balls) with the bat, and also picked up the crucial wicket of Marizanne Kapp in her spell with the ball, while also grabbing the catch of Niki Prasad to leave her deep all-round imprint on the game, capping off a memorable day for her on the field, delivering under pressure for her side.

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