Gardner's Giants one-step away from unprecedented WPL final berth

Jarred Cross Published February 3, 2026 at 1.00pm (AWST)

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Indian Women's Premier League outfit Gujarat Giants have qualified for their second playoffs, both since the appointment for Ash Gardner as skipper of the franchise. Image: BCCI.

Ash Gardner is one step away from leading her Gujarat Giants to a maiden Women's Premier League final ahead of Tuesday's Eliminator with a Dehli Capitals outfit vying for revenge from three-straight runners-up finishes.

After mid-season wobbles, the Giants strung together three straight wins to claim second spot on the table with a 5-3 record, including two successes over Dehli along the way.

It was an 11-run win over Mumbai on Saturday morning, Australian time, which took Gardner's side to a best-ever finish and back-to-back playoff appearances.

It also snapped a run of eight straight losses to the Capitals.

The Giants' had finished at the bottom of the table in both WPL seasons ahead of Gardner taking on captaincy for the 2025 season.

With a new look about them in 2026, Gardner's produced a solid campaign with the bat - twice eclipsing 50 (top score of 65), as well as important knocks of 49 and 46 to go, en route to meeting the Capitals - who've qualified for each WPL final without claiming ultimate success.

Gardner has also shown signs she won't shy away from unorthodox decisions in the last month.

At the weekend, her choice to bat first after winning the toss made her the first skipper to send her opposition into the field in more than 40 straight WPL matches.

It was a simple enough decision, Gardner explained post-win.

"I just think we've won all our games batting first," the Muruwari allrounder told the coverage.

"So I guess there's an element of that and (also) having confidence doing that.

"I think if you look at, I guess, our batting lineup, you know we want to take on the power play and really set up the game through that period."

Sitting fifth on the competition run tally ahead of playoffs, Gardner (244 runs averaging 30.5 and strike rate of 143) has been buoyed by a dominant all-round effort from New Zealand veteran Sophie Devine (a league-best 17 wickets and ninth for runs scored).

Solid contributions from Australian teammates Beth Mooney and Georgia Wareham, Rajeshwari Gayakwad and local young gun Anushka Sharma have also propelled the Giants fortunes.

In their previous two meetings, the Giants lodged heart-stopping four and three run wins over Dehli - both going down to the final ball.

The most recent came just a week ago, Gardner sealing the win holding on to in the deep for the last of her four catches for the match with the final ball.

72 hours later, in what Gardner described as effectively being a quarter final against Mumbai, she again showed up for her team.

Top scoring for her side with 46 at the crease, she produced at the death with the ball taking the final over and limiting Indians captain and competition top run-scorer Harmanpreet Kaur - who'd raced to 69 from 44 balls in her side's chase, to a pair of boundaries with 26 required.

Gardner also picked up Poonam Khemnar's wicket at the death to secure an 11-run win, and with it, second spot to progress through to Tuesday night's Eliminator.