Gujarat Giants
Gujarat Giants 170 for 9 (Fulmali 61, Kerr 3-34, Matthews 3038) lost to the Mumbai Indians 179 for 6 (Harmanpreet 54, Sciver-Brunt 38, Mishra 1-23, Gardner 1-27) by nine runs.
With a nine-run victory in their penultimate league game, the Mumbai Indians (MI) maintained their supremacy over the Gujarat Giants (GG) and advanced one step closer to a direct trip to the WPL 2025 final. At the Brabourne Stadium, MI captain Harmanpreet Kaur scored her third half-century in four games, and Bharti Fulmali got her first WPL fifty off only 22 balls to give MI a serious fright. The sparse home crowd was treated to a handful of stroke-filled innings.
Amanjot Kaur and Nat Sciver-Brunt supported their captain as MI scored 179 for 6 in their season-opening game in Mumbai. The absence of dew did not help GG, who were kept on a tight tether in response. GG was held to 170 for 9 thanks to a five-wicket partnership between Amelia Kerr and Shabnim Ismail, the latter of whom delivered the crucial blows to Ashleigh Gardner and Phoebe Litchfield. In 19 games this season, it was only the third time a side had successfully defended a target. MI defeated GG in the WPL for the sixth time in six meetings.
With a game remaining with a net run rate of 0.298 (just behind DC’s 0.396), the victory moved MI to 10 points, even with the Delhi Capitals. To close out the league campaign, they meet Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Tuesday in less than twenty-four hours. The team that finishes second will play GG in the eliminator, while MI needs to win that game to take the lead and advance straight to the final.
Blitz from Fulmali gives MI a serious scare.
Just before Fulmali left, Deandra Dottin had survived a dropped chance, and GG were 70 for 5 in the eleventh over. In an over, she took Sciver-Brunt for three fours: one through the square leg, one over the cover, and one square through the off side. A batter seldom outperforms Dottin and gives the opposition headaches, but Fulmali’s attack did just that. Kerr quickly bowled Dottin, reducing GG’s total to 88 off 41.
After that, Fulmali hammered Kerr over long-on and then Amanjot in the following over. She scored 24 runs off the nine balls she faced against Kerr, including a run of 6, 6, 4 that had her at a fifty off 22 balls before she was bowled out in the same over. After Simran Shaikh, who replaced Dayalan Hemalatha, and Tanuja Kanwar hit Matthews for 15, GG needed 38 off the 18, which quickly turned into 23 off 12. However, MI managed to maintain composure in the face of a hectic end to record their fifth victory in seven games.
MI’s opening issues persist.
MI entered Kerr and started the batting for the second consecutive game. She clipped Kashvee Gautam for a four after first facing Kanwar’s left-arm spin. However, after pushing one straight to Gardner at mid-on and starting off, she struggled to rotate strike and was run out.
MI gained momentum in the powerplay thanks to Matthews and Sciver-Brunt. They moved about the crease to take advantage of the short border, which was made up of square boundaries that were 58 and 52 meters in length. Before aerially sweeping Kanwar in the same area for another six, Matthews dragged her West Indies teammate Dottin over deep square leg for a six in the first over. After six overs, MI was 44 for 1, and Sciver-Brunt had whisked Kanwar through a short fine leg.
