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As we inch closer to the conclusion of the third season of the Women’s Premier League, commonly abbreviated as WPL, the following article analyses and provides detailed insights into the Eliminator between Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Giants while also providing a preview for the Grand Finale between arch-nemesis Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians.
Former Champions Mumbai Indians triumph in Eliminator against Gujarat Giants
In typical Mumbai Indians fashion, the hosts thrashed Gujarat Giants by a pulverising margin of 47 runs in the Eliminator of the Women’s Premier League (WPL). The Brabourne stadium, adjacent to the scenic and iconic Marine drive bore witness to a comprehensive display by the Mumbai Indians that saw them advance to yet another WPL Finals after defeating Gujarat Giants, a team playing their first ever knock-out match in WPL history.
Gujarat Giants Opt to Bowl First
The toss fell in favour of the Gujarat Giants, probably the only thing that went their way over the course of the Eliminator. On a freshly curated pitch that was interspersed with patches of grass, accompanied by a decent amount of moisture, the visitors opted to bowl first in the all-important knock-out with dew expected in abundance during the second innings.
Put into bat, Mumbai Indians re-united their most successful opening pair with Yastika Bhatia being reinstated at the top after experimenting with Amelia Kerr as a companion for the hard-hitting Hayley Matthews. However, the promotion up the order did not seem to change the fortunes of the Indian keeper-batter as she was dismissed for just 15 runs in a 14-ball vigil that saw her hit three boundaries, before she miscued an attempted pull shot off Danielle Gibson only to find Bharti Fulmali inside the 30-yard circle.
Orange Cap Holder Sciver-Brunt joins Hayley Matthews in the Middle
The fall of the first wicket in 5th over brought to the crease the highest run-scorer of the tournament, England all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt. By the end of powerplay, the Mumbai Indians managed a sedate score of just 37 runs with Hayley Matthews looking out of touch as she seemed to struggle, only able to amass 17 runs in the 22 balls she had faced. However, the end of the powerplay brought about a sense of urgency within the MI batters as Nat Sciver-Brunt alongside Hayley Matthews embarked upon a marauding massacre of the Gujarat bowlers.
Annihilating Acceleration in the Middle Overs
The assault was spearheaded by the in-form Sciver-Brunt as she slammed two successive boundaries at the end of the 7th over. Hayley soon followed, striking three consecutive boundaries off the first three balls of 8th over thus totalling to 20 runs off 5 balls for the former champions.
This turned the tide and led to a complete shift in momentum as boundaries and maximums became a regular occurrence in the following overs with the duo scoring a staggering 74 runs off the next six overs with all six overs going for 10 runs or more. In the mean-time, the West Indies skipper brought up her half-century in style as she pulled Tanuja Kanwar for an elegant maximum over mid-wicket, accelerating like a Formula 1 car to bring up her fifty in 36 balls as she scored 33 runs in just 14 balls.
With the hosts racing along at a rapid pace, Meghna Singh and Priya Mishra pulled the scoring back a notch with economic bowling conceding just 13 runs in the 14th and 15th overs. However, this stoppage in rampant run-scoring was resumed in the following over as Nat-Sciver Brunt prolonged her purple patch striking consecutive sixes off Danielle Gibson, the first one bringing her another half-century. The following over, Hayley Matthews smashed Priya Mishra for two successive sixes followed by a boundary in the first three balls of the 16th over.
The first ball of the 17th over bowled by Kashvee Gautam saw the back of Hayley Matthews as she returned to the pavilion after a well-crafted knock worth 77 runs. Dismissed by a sharp catch by keeper Beth Mooney, Hayley’s wicket finally gave the Gujarat Giants a crucial breakthrough after an astounding 133-run partnership that saw a negligible amount of dot balls.
Skipper Harmanpreet Strikes Handsomely
With the team strongly positioned at 159 for 2 in 16.1 overs, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur walked in to bat. After being given a second opportunity as she was dropped with just 1 run to her name, Kaur cashed in, hammering Tanuja Kanwar for two maximums and two boundaries, eventually scoring 22 runs off the 18th over.
The penultimate over saw the departure of Nat Sciver-Brunt after an artistically articulated 77-run innings off just 41 balls, with her requiring 7 runs to reach 500 runs for the season and 3 needed for a 1000 runs at the WPL.
Courtesy some belligerent ball-striking by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur who dispatched anything full in length — eventually run-out on the last ball before she scored a pyrotechnic 36-run knock, striking at a rate of 300, the Mumbai Indians got to a towering total of 213 runs for the loss of 4 wickets in their stipulated 20 overs.
Gujarat Giants botch 214-Run Chase
In the face of a towering target of 214 runs, the Gujarat Giants lost key batter Beth Mooney for just 6 runs in the very first over as Hayley Matthews took a stunner at slip off Shabnim Ismail’s bowling. Soon after, Harleen Deol was sent back to the pavilion by an incredibly athletic fielding effort by Sanskriti Gupta that enforced a brilliant run-out. The biggest blow for the Gujarat Giants came in the last over of the powerplay as Hayley Matthews castled skipper Ashleigh Gardener by an absolute beauty that kissed the top of off stump. Thus the Gujarat Giants made a meal of the chase as they lost 3 wickets in the powerplay itself.
Despite resilient camoe from Danielle Gibson, Phoebe Litchfield and Bharti Fulmali each of them scoring in excess of 30, the Gujarat Giants never really looked to be in contention with the Mumbai Indians dominating proceedings. The final nail in the coffin, however, was the wicket of young prodigy Phoebe Litchfield as she looked in fine touch with some gorgeous shot straight over the bowler’s head, before she was outfoxed by Amelia Kerr before Yastika completed a swift stumping.
Eventually, in the 20th over, Gujarat Giants were bundled out for 166 runs as Amelia Kerr scalped 2 wickets while Hayley Matthews prolonged her “purple” patch with 3 wickets to cap off an incredible all-round effort. However, a major reason for MI’s victory was their superior and determined fielding as they took every opportunity they got, enforcing a total of 3 run-outs.
In conclusion, the Mumbai Indians were the far better side in all three aspects of the game. Gujarat Giants who were without lead bowler Deandra Dottin were poor in execution, especially as a fielding unit as they spilled multiple opportunities and leaking runs on account of consistent misfields. Had they held onto their catches, the outcome of the match may have been different as both Hayley Matthews and Nat Sciver-Brunt received lifelines early in their innings. Consequently, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Hayley Matthews and Amelia Kerr pulled off match-winning performances once again with Mumbai Indians enhancing their record against the Gujarat Giants with 7 wins out of 7 matches.
Third-Time Lucky for Delhi Capitals?
With a comprehensive victory, Mumbai Indians will battle it out against arch-rivals Delhi Capitals to decide who takes the WPL Trophy home. The two sides had earlier faced each other in the Finals of the inaugural WPL season, with Mumbai Indians emerging triumphant on that occasion.
Both teams have been consistent in their domination with each franchise qualifying in all 3 editions of the tournament with Delhi Capitals making the Finals for the third consecutive time, losing out to Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the preceding seasons.
Historically, the Delhi Capitals have been the better team, finishing ahead of the Mumbai Indians in the group stages in all the 3 editions and they also boast a superior head-to-head record, winning 4 out of the 7 games played between the two sides.
It may also be argued that this might be the best chance yet for the Meg Lanning-led Delhi Capitals to lift their first ever WPL title, considering the fact that they have already defeated the Mumbai Indians twice already this season.
While as far as it goes for the former champions, the Mumbai Indians possess an in-form core group with Nat Sciver-Brunt leading the run-scoring charts while Hayley Matthews currently wears the purple cap as a crown, followed closely by team-mate Amelia Kerr.
With every match between the two most consistent sides in the WPL being a mouth-watering contest, the Grand Finale of the third season promises to add another enthralling chapter to this rivalry with each team looking as deadly as the other.
Written by Chahel Chheda
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