Ashleigh Gardner stars with bat and ball as Gujarat Giants upset Delhi Capitals

The Australia international, who had been having a quiet tournament with the bat, scored 51 not out off 33 balls as well as taking 2 for 19 to help her side to an 11-run win

Mumbai: Gujarat Giants 147-4, Delhi Capitals 136 – Gujarat Giants won by 11 runs

Ashleigh Gardner starred with bat and ball as Gujarat Giants completed an 11-run win over Delhi Capitals.

The Australia international, who had been having a quiet tournament with the bat, scored 51 not out off 33 balls to help her side post 147 for 4 before taking 2 for 19 in a player of the match-winning performance.

Batting first, the Giants lost Sophia Dunkley inside the opening over before Harleen Deol and Laura Wolvaardt steadied the ship with a 49-run partnership for the second wicket.

Deol departed for 31 (33) on the stroke of drinks but her exit actually benefitted the Giants, with Gardner kicking the innings into gear.

^{Kim Garth picked up 2 for 18 [Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images]}

The allrounder put on 81 runs off 53 balls with Wolvaardt, who top-scored for her side with a measured 57 (45), and added a further 13 runs (eight balls) with Dayalan Hemalatha, who was dismissed by Jess Jonassen off the final delivery of the innings.

In reply, Meg Lanning and Alice Capsey were motoring nicely following the early departure of Shafali Verma before three wickets in the space of 10 deliveries caused the Capitals' chase to falter.

Lanning was pinned lbw by Sneh Rana while Capsey was run out three balls later. The following over, Kim Garth (2 for 18) accounted for Jemimah Rodrigues.

Jess Jonassen was the next player to depart, caught by Gardner off Deol after sharing a 29-run stand with Marizanne Kapp, before another flurry of wickets saw the Capitals collapse from 81 for 5 to 100 for 8.

An explosive 35-run stand between Shikha Pandey and Arundhati Reddy kept the Capitals in the match before Garth made a vital intervention in the 18th over, combining with Rana to remove Reddy for 25 (17). The following over, Gardner wrapped up the win with the wicket of Poonam Yadav.

For the Giants, the result marks just their second win of the season while Delhi Capitals remain two points behind table-toppers Mumbai Indians, who have a game in hand.