Ride on skipper Harmanpreet Kaur‘s 51 followed by a superb bowling performance, Mumbai once again topped Gujarat in all departments to record a fifth straight win. Mumbai decimated Gujarat by 143 points in the tournament opener on March 4.
Dashboard | As it happened
Mumbai did well to put 162 points on the board after losing Nat Sciver-Brunt (36) and Yastika Bhatia (44) in quick succession. But Harmanpreet led Mumbai ahead with their 51-point stand with Amelia Kerr (19) to revive the Mumbai Indians’ charge.
Sciver-Brunt also shone with the ball as he got rid of the dangerous Sophie Dunkley first ball which opened the floodgates and Gujarat never recovered as they lost wickets at regular intervals.
Hayley Matthews turned the ball around a lot and also took three wickets. Kerr also contributed with a few wickets to hand Mumbai an easy victory.
Make 5️⃣ win in a row! 🔥Another dominating performance from @mipaltanView Scorecard ▶️… https://t.co/3IIQZ9YPyG
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The Gujarat Giants, who stuttered a fourth defeat in five matches and remained second-to-bottom in the five-team points table, went 107/9 in 20 overs chasing 163 on a ground that had something for all the parts.
While each of Mumbai’s foreign bowlers were among the wickets, India’s uncapped Saika Ishaque went wicketless in her 4-0-20-0.
The Mumbai Indians looked steady but unsure of a strong total midway through their innings after being asked to strike first, having scored 64 for one from 10 overs.
However, captain Harmanpreet Kaur hit a 30-ball 51 with seven fours and two sixes, her blitz propelling the Mumbai Indians to a tough 162/8.
After a calm first half, the Mumbai Indians went the aggressive route to add 98 runs in the final 10 overs.
In the second half, the Mumbai Indians got off to a great start with Sciver-Brunt hitting the opener, trapping in-form Sophie Dunkley, who had hit 65 in her last outing at this venue.
Sabbhineni Meghana showed initial promise with some cracking boundaries, but perished for 16 against Hayley Matthews in the sixth after a brief 21-point stand with Harleen Deol.
Matthews hit again three balls later, pulling out Annabel Sutherland for a four-ball duck to leave Gujarat reeling at 34/3 late in the power play.
With that, Matthews (9) moved up to second place in the list of bowlers with the most wickets, overtaking Shikha Pandey (8) of Delhi Capitals and Sophie Ecclestone (8) of UP Warriorz.
The Gujarat giants not only struggled out of blocks but also lost wickets in heaps. After Isabelle Wong trapped Harleen Deol (22) ahead of the first strategic break, Ashleigh Gardner (8) was dropped just after Kerr’s retake, which also included Dayalan Hemlatha (6).
Among the positives for the Gujarat Giants was captain Sneh Rana’s spell of 4-0-17-1 and a 19-ball 20 which helped stem the wicket drop for a short while.
Kaur lost his fourth WPL trotting pitch as Gujarat Giants captain Sneh Rana opted to play while making two changes. Laura Wolvaardt and Georgia Wareham made way for Dunkley and Sutherland, while the Mumbai Indians remained unchanged.
(With PTI inputs)
