'No.1 All-Rounder', Says Reema Malhotra As She Hails Ashleigh Gardner
Gujarat Giant's Ashleigh Gardner (Twitter)
Former Indian cricketer Reema Malhotra recently praised Gujarat Giants' (GG) Ashleigh Gardners' commendable performance as an all rounder in the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2023 face-off against the Delhi Capitals (DC) on Thursday at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
"What an amazing comeback from Ashleigh Gardner. This knock showed why she is the No. 1 all-rounder and a dangerous batter," told Malhotra to Sports18 during a discussion.
After being asked to bat first, Gardner hit a smashing 51 off just 33 deliveries as the Gujarat Giants amassed 147/4. Moreover, the all-round spin bowler later provided figures of 2/19 in 3.4 overs to assist her team in dismissing Meg Lanning's DC for 136 and winning by 11 runs.
While lauding Ashleigh's performance and talking about why her team is supporting her even during her lean phase she said:
"The shots she played went for boundaries even when the fielder was present at long-off, which means she puts in the power on every shot. This is her specialty. She is a specialist in white-ball cricket - T20s or one-day. Her bat might have been silent but that is why all the teams back her."
Even though Gardner did not hit a six, she successfully smashed nine fours. In the final two overs, she produced 22 runs, allowing Gujarat Giants to attain a respectable total.
Talking about Ashleigh being a player for big occassion Reema added:
"Before this, she had scored only 52 runs in five matches but today the half-century knock came. It shows that she is a big-match player and she showed that by doing it."
Placed fourth with four points to their name, the Giants will take on Smriti Mandhana's RCB in their penultimate group-stage fixture on Saturday.
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