Gujarat Giants prevailed in a game that they could have easily lost and seemed to be winning comfortably at one point but eventually came out on top by just eight runs against the UP Warriorz (UPW) at Delhi's Arun Jaitely Stadium on Monday, March 11. The game ebbed and flowed so much and at 35/5, it seemed the Giants had shut the UPW's shop riding on rookie Shabnam Shakil's mind-boggling spell in the powerplay before Deepti Sharma's new-found form with the bat helped them to hope against the hope.
However, it wasn't to be as the Giants were lucky enough to eke out a win. The Giants' win may not be enough for themselves but has definitely helped the Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) cause. Even if RCB lose to Mumbai Indians on Tuesday, March 12, they would qualify for the eliminator barring a miraculous Giants win against the Delhi Capitals in the league stage finale.
As it stands, UP Warriorz will require Mumbai Indians to beat RCB by upwards of a 60-run margin for the Smriti Mandhana-led side's NRR to drop below them. If RCB lose by a close margin, UP Warriorz will be eliminated. If RCB go on to win their final league stage match against the defending champions then both UP Warriorz and the Gujarat Giants will be eliminated. The other consequence of RCB's win will be a near confirmation of the eliminator being a repeat of Tuesday's clash against MI.
If RCB lose, which will be the result that the Gujarat Giants are hoping for, then the Beth Mooney-led side will have a massive challenge on their hands. The Giants will not only have to beat the Capitals on Wednesday but also with a colossal margin of upwards of 80 runs because of their negative NRR of -0.873.
The Giants would have liked to bowl out UP on Monday cheaply after having them reduced to 35/5 but Deepti Sharma's 88* off 60 has kept them in the tournament, if only by just a very thin mathematical possibility.
As for the Mumbai Indians, it is not a dead rubber by any means given they still have a shot at qualifying for the final directly. Mumbai have to win, possibly by a big margin enough to overcome Delhi Capitals' NRR but with the Meg Lanning-led side having a game on Wednesday, they will exactly know what to do in order to make the summit clash.
