Ajit Karn
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s fifty followed by Nat Sciver-Brun and Hayley Matthews’ three-wicket hauls respectively helped all-round Mumbai Indians defeat Gujarat Giants by 55 runs on Tuesday at the Brabourne Stadium to become the first team to qualify for the playoffs in the ongoing Women’s Premier League (WPL).
In 20 overs, Gujarat Giants scored 107/9 while chasing 163 runs. With this 55-run victory over GG, Mumbai Indians qualified for the playoffs as the first team. It is Mumbai Indians’ fifth consecutive victory in the WPL.
Nat Sciver-Brunn provided her team with the wicket of Sophia Dunkley for a duck in the first over of the Mumbai Indians’ innings as they attempted to defend a total of 163 runs.
The right-handed batswoman Harleen Deol then stepped up to the plate. In the sixth over of the game, Hayley Matthews struck twice against Gujarat, removing Sabbhineni Meghana and Annabel Sutherland. Meghana returned after scoring 16 while Sutherland retreated after scoring a duck.
Issy Wong ended Deol’s sublime innings at the crease by dismissing her for 22 runs. Gujarat continued to lose wickets at regular intervals as the formidable bowling attack of Mumbai dismantled them.
Amelia Kerr joined the Mumbai Indians’ string of wicket-takers in the tenth over when she sent Ashleigh Gardner back to the dugout for eight runs.
At this point, Mumbai dominated Gujarat to the point where they were forced to play careless shots and lose wickets.
In the 15th over of the match, Sneh Rana attempted to hit Nat Sciver-Brunt for a couple of boundaries but was also trapped LBW. She returned having scored 20 out of 19
Then, right-handed batter Kim Garth stepped up to the plate. Nat Sciver-Brunn took her third wicket, sending Garth back to the pavilion for 8 runs, after a spectacular catch by Harmanpreet Kaur, who dove forward at mid-off.
Matthews dismissed Tanuja Kanwar for a duck in the 18th over of the match. In the final over of the game, Gujarat scored only two runs against Saika Ishaque, giving Mumbai a 55-run victory at the Brabourne Stadium.
Earlier, Yastika Bhatia and Harmanpreet Kaur contributed to Mumbai Indians’ 162/8 total against Gujarat Giants.
Harmanpreet scored the most runs for Mumbai Indians with 51 off 30 balls, while Bhatia scored crucial runs with 44 off 37 balls. Ashleigh Gardner took three wickets for the Gujarat Giants, while Kim Garth, Sneh Rana, and Tanuja Kanwar each took one.
Opted to bowl first, the Gujarat Ginats team got off to a flying start as Ashleigh Gardner provided her team with a big wicket. Gardner struck first by dismissing Hayley Matthews for a duck off three balls in the first over of the match.
Nat Sciver-Brunt and Yastika Bhatia then handled the charge as they slammed Gardner for 11 runs with the help of two magnificent fours.
In the eleventh over of the match, Kim Garth gave her team a crucial wicket by dismissing Nat Sciver-Brunn. Sciver-Brunt, the star batsman for Gujarat, returned to the pavilion after scoring 36 runs off 31 deliveries.
Mumbai captain Harmanpreet Kaur then came out to bat on the crease. In the 12th over, Yastika Bhatia continued her assault by smashing Tanuja Kanwar for a boundary and scoring 9 runs.
Sneh Rana then came to bowl the thirteenth over and got an inside edge off the first ball from Yastika Bhatia, who ran off without looking at her partner, Harmanpreet. She then tried to take run back but a good throw, straight at the wicketkeeper resulted in a run-out. Bhatia returned to the pavilion after scoring 44 runs in 37 balls.
The right-handed batter Amelia Kerr then stepped up to the plate, and together with the team’s captain, Harmanpreet, smashed 9 runs off Sneh Rana with the assistance of stunning boundaries.
Harmanpreet and Kerr smashed Gujarat bowlers all over the field while collecting singles on a regular basis. However, Kerr’s red-hot form at the crease came to an end when she was dismissed for 19 runs by Tanuja Kanwar in WPL.
Sneh Rana then dealt Mumbai a second blow by replacing Issy Wong with a duck. Harmanpreet shifted gears and smashed Annabel Sutherland for 14 runs by hitting two spectacular sixes.
Harmanpreet brought up her 29-ball half-century after slamming back-to-back two boundaries, however, her stint at the crease was cut short Gardner removed her for 51 runs in the last over of the game (WPL).
In the same over, Gardner dealt another blow to Mumbai by dismissing the new batter Amanjot Kaur for a duck, limiting Mumbai India to 162/8.
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Mumbai Indians 162 (Harmanpreet Kaur 51, Yastika Bhatia 44; Ashleigh Gardner 3-34) defeated Gujarat Giants 107 (Ashleigh Gardner 3-34). (Harleen Deol 22, Sneh Rana 20; Nat Sciver-Brunt 3-21).
