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WPL 2026: Different People Keep Standing Up, Which Is A Huge Positive, Says Devine On Gujarat Giants' Performance

The Ashleigh Gardner: Gujarat Giants' all-rounder Sophie Devine admitted her side had fallen short in the field in their narrow loss to defending champions Mumbai Indians, but has drawn encouragement from the fact that different people are standing up to perform for the side, which she thinks is a huge positive. The Ashleigh Gardner-led Gujarat Giants, who have four points currently, are seeking a win after suffering their first defeat of the season to MI. It was probably one of those games where we certainly werent at our best, particularly in the field. But to think that we pushed the Mumbai Indians so closely and nearly snuck across the line again in that final over, there are still plenty of positives, said Sophie in a chat with the broadcasters, ahead of the clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the DY Patil Stadium here on Friday. I think the batting has been outstanding. We actually spoke about it post-game - weve been able to score big totals, but theyve all come in slightly different ways. Weve had real strengths in different phases, and different people keep standing up, which is a huge positive, she added. She also said the challenge of containing opposition line-ups on high-scoring surfaces is huge, but added that GG were building confidence within the group. With the ball, we know its always going to be tough on these kinds of wickets, quick outfield and short boundaries. So weve got to keep finding ways to restrict teams. It would be nice to have an easier game, but we know thats not going to be the case against RCB tonight. It really grows confidence within the group, she added. Devine singled out Anushka Sharmas composure at number three in the opening match as a boost to the squad and spoke of the enjoyment of opening the batting alongside Australia batter Beth Mooney. Even in the first game, the way Anushka went out there at No.3, it gives other players confidence that theyre good enough to be here and can perform at this level by backing their strengths. Im really enjoying batting with Moons (Mooney) again. Ive played a lot of cricket with her at the Perth Scorchers, and having someone at the other end youre really familiar with brings a lot of confidence and calmness to my game, she said. Devine singled out Anushka Sharmas composure at number three in the opening match as a boost to the squad and spoke of the enjoyment of opening the batting alongside Australia batter Beth Mooney. Even in the first game, the way Anushka went out there at No.3, it gives other players confidence that theyre good enough to be here and can perform at this level by backing their strengths. Also Read: Live Cricket Score Were very fortunate to have great analysts on board, but at the end of the day, you can have all the plans in the world, if you dont execute them on the field, they dont mean much, she said. Article Source: IANS