In the third match of the Women’s Premier League 2023, Grace Harris put in a stellar performance to lead her team UP Warriors to a thrilling win against Gujarat Giants.
Grace Harris played a memorable inning
Harris’ 59 off just 26 balls, which included six fours and four sixes, not only helped her team chase down the target of 170 runs, but also won the match with 1 ball to spare.
Secure PoTM Award
Grace Harris scored a match-winning 59*(26) for @UPWarriorz when the going got tough and bagged the Player of the Match award 👏👏#UPW registered a 3-wicket victory over #GG
— Women's Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) March 5, 2023
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/vc6i9xFK3L#TATAWPL | #UPWvGG pic.twitter.com/5etguchnw3
Harris not only won the match by winning his team out of defeat with his strong innings, but also won the Player of the Match award while showing the best in the entire match.
Grace Harris showed her patience, power and aggression
Harris’ innings was full of power and aggression and she was putting pressure on the Gujarat Giants bowlers right from the start. She played very powerful shots and took the ball very far across the boundary. It was clear from her batting that she would not let her team fall short of the target. The match was halted for some time after a powerful shot by him, when she hit a sky-high six over long-on and the ball got stuck on the roof of the stadium.
Harris’s patience
What made Harris’ innings even more impressive was the fact that she was playing under pressure. UP Warriors lost quick wickets early in the match and the required run rate kept rising. But Harris stood firm and continued to play his shots. Her approach was a perfect example of how to bat in T20 cricket – take calculative risks, but don’t lose your cool.
Harris’s power and aggression
Harris’ innings however was not just about power hitting, he also displayed excellent skill and technique, especially against the spinners. She used her feet well against the spinners and she dominated the spinners throughout the match. She also rotated the strike well, which kept the scoreboard moving and took the pressure off her.
As Harris neared her fifty, the tension in the stadium began to rise. The Gujarat Giants bowlers were bowling with full force, but Harris was single-handedly challenging the Gujarat bowlers. She was keeping calm and taking the match forward. Eventually, she brought up his half-century with a fine boundary, and all the spectators present in the stadium cheered him for her performance with applause and whistles.
Excitement of match’s last over
But the drama was not over yet. With UP Warriors needing 18 off the last over, the game was still out of reach. But Harris had not given up yet. He hit a six and a four off the first two balls of the over and suddenly, the equation started changing. Then, she hit another boundary, and the required run rate came down further. Now UP Warriors needed just 1 run off the last 2 balls to win, Harris this time hit a massive six in the straight to give his team the win with a ball to spare.
It was a brilliant innings from Harris and one that will forever go down in WPL T20 cricket history. This performance of Grace Harris proved that nothing is impossible in cricket and even a single player can turn the tide of the match.
But it was not just Harris who played a key role in UP Warriors’ victory. The rest of the team also contributed in their own way. Opener Kiran Navagire played a flamboyant knock of 53 off 43 balls, while Sophie Electstone made a valuable contribution of 22 off 12 balls. The bowlers also did a fine job, especially Deepti Sharma and Alextone, who picked up two wickets each and kept the run rate in check.
Conclusion
In the end, it was a team effort that helped snatch victory for UP Warriors from the jaws of defeat. But it was Harris who snatched the match from Gujarat with her aggressive innings. His innings was a perfect example of batting with aggression, skill and composure in a T20 game. It was an innings that will be remembered for a long time.