Since players have been lighting the stage on fire in each game so far in the first WPL, records are about to fall. The fastest 50 in the 4-day history of the WPL was recorded by Gujarat’s Sophia Dunkley in today’s game between Gujarat Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore. She did so in only 18 deliveries. It’s too soon to declare it a record, but it’s also not a typical feat, so it might not be broken for a while.
Sneh Rana, the skipper of Gujarat, won the toss earlier and decided to bat first after nearly grabbing a victory while defending against UP. Sophia Dunkley, eager to claim their first victory, started the game off with a flurry of boundaries that they hit without regard for who they were hitting them at, accelerating the run pace. Sabbhineni Meghana, her companion on the other end, primarily watched the carnage from a distance but quickly reached out to Meghan Schutt.
Yet, Dunkley didn’t seem to be affected by this at all as the England batsmen kept chasing the RCB spinners to clear the fence. She wrote a 60-run partnership with Harleen Deol in just 30 deliveries, with Dunkley contributing the majority of them. She completed the WPL’s quickest fifty in 18 deliveries while doing so. She hit three maximums and 11 boundaries in her innings.
Dunkley appeared fierce with the bat and didn’t appear to be in the mood to calm down. Young Shreyanka Patil was able to stop the onslaught and have Dunkley caught by Heather Knight as she tried to win it all for RCB. She only made 28 births before being cut loose for 65.
As a result, Gujarat Giants were reduced to 82/2 after 8 overs. Gujarat appears to be strong enough to pursue Bangalore for their eagerly anticipated championship victory, especially with Harleen Deol in form. With the new ball, RCB’s bowlers Meghan Schutt and Ellysse Perry began their innings, and despite Dunkley’s destructive innings, they were able to stop the flow of runs. Due to the two bowlers going for a tonne of runs, Preeti Bose and Renuka Singh have had to shoulder a large portion of the burden.