Captain Harmanpreet Kaur continued her sublime form and provided a masterclass in how to play spin as Mumbai Indians became the first team to advance to the playoffs of the Women’s Premier League at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday.
With their fifth win, by a huge margin of 55 runs vs Gujarat Giants, Mumbai Indians remained unbeaten and increased their lead at the top of the table. Mumbai Indians also became the first team to successfully defend a sub-200 total in the tournament.
The day didn’t begin in perfect fashion for MI as they were asked to bat first after losing the toss. There was soon further trouble as West indies captain Hayley Matthews suffered a rare failure and was dismissed for a duck in the first over.
The in-form pair of Yastika Bhatia and Nat Sciver-Brunt then consolidated with Bhatia being the aggressor, while Sciver-Brunt was solid at the other end.
Bhatia again was fluent in the Powerplay, with her driving through the off-side being the standout again. Just when it looked like she was using the long handle effectively, Garth dismissed her for 36.
Bhatia was then dismissed in the 40s for the third match in a row as she was run out for 44 off 37 balls after going for a non-existent single and being turned down by Kaur.
Mumbai Indians, 64 for one in 10 overs, looked unlikely to post a strong total at the halfway mark of their innings after being invited to bat first.
Yastika Bhatia (44) and Sciver-Brent added 74 runs for the second wicket and established themselves well. After a calm first half, Mumbai Indians went on an aggressive path to add 98 runs in the last 10 overs.
Kaur became the first batter to score three WPL fifties, finishing with 51 off 30 before her innings was ended by a splendid diving catch by Harleen Deol on the deep midwicket boundary. She received good support from Amelia Kerr, who scored a brisk 19.
Also, her inning helped MI finish with 162/8, a total that proved to be well over par eventually.
In the second half, Mumbai Indians made a terrific start with Sciver-Brunt striking on the first ball, trapping the in-form Sophie Dunkley, who had struck 65 in her last outing at this venue.
Sabbhineni Meghana showed initial promise with some cracking boundaries but perished for 16 off Hayley Matthews in the sixth over after a brief 21-run stand with Harleen Deol.
Matthews struck again three balls later, removing Annabel Sutherland for a four-ball duck to leave Gujarat tottering at 34/3 at the end of the powerplay. With that, Matthews (9) moved up to the second spot in the list of bowlers with the most wickets, surpassing Delhi Capitals’ Shikha Pandey (8) and Sophie Ecclestone (8) of the UP Warriorz.
Gujarat Giants not only struggled to get off the blocks but also lost wickets in heaps. After Isabelle Wong trapped Harleen Deol (22) leg-before before the first strategic break, Ashleigh Gardner (8) was dismissed right after resumption by Kerr, who also accounted for Dayalan Hemlatha (6).
Among the bright spots for Gujarat Giants was captain Sneh Rana’s 19-ball 20 which helped stem the fall of wickets for a short while.
Gujarat kept losing wickets at regular intervals after that as they only managed 107/9 in 20 overs. Such was MI’s dominance that no Gujarat batter managed to cross 22.
Sciver-Brunt (3/21) and Matthews (3/23) both picked 3 wickets, while Kerr capped off a fine all-round show with 2/18.
Kaur was named the Player of the Match for her effort, her third of this tournament. Speaking about the reasons behind the team’s success, she said,
“Everyone is so positive and wants to do well for the team. I have to give thanks to the support staff. Whenever you show trust to the team, that is when you do well.”
Speaking after the match, Sciver-Brunt said Mumbai were only focusing on their own performances.
“We’re just trying to be consistent. We’ve got players taking wickets and scoring runs well. We just don’t want to be complacent. We’re doing well, playing from the heart and enjoying ourselves.”
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Hayley Matthews, Yastika Bhatia(w), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Dhara Gujjar, Amelia Kerr, Issy Wong, Amanjot Kaur, Humaira Kazi, Jintimani Kalita, Saika Ishaque
AD
Gujarat Giants (Playing XI): Sabbhineni Meghana, Sophia Dunkley, Harleen Deol, Ashleigh Gardner, Dayalan Hemalatha, Annabel Sutherland, Sushma Verma(w), Kim Garth, Tanuja Kanwar, Sneh Rana(c), Mansi Joshi