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Mumbai Indians registered a convincing 143-run win over Gujarat Giants in the opening match of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2023 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Saturday.
After being asked to bat first, Mumbai Indians didn’t have a perfect start as opener Yastika Bhatia (1) was dismissed by left-arm spinner Tanuja Kanwar in her first over. However, there was no stopping opener Hayley Matthews at the other end as she played some brilliant strokes, scoring boundaries at regular intervals.
Matthews along with all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt got Mumbai’s inning back on track and finished the powerplay at 44/1. Matthews and Sciver-Brunt added a vital 54-run partnership for the second wicket before Sciver-Brunt (23) was caught off leg-spinner George Wareham at mid-off in the 9th over.
In the very next over from Ashleigh Gardner, Matthews was bowled after scoring a quick 47 off 31 balls at a strike rate of 151.61, hitting three fours and four sixes.
Coming into bat at No.4, Harmanpreet looked in the zone right from the start and played some beautiful strokes to score boundaries all over the park. She got good support from Amelia Kerr at the other end, who batted brilliantly to make things difficult for Gujarat bowlers.
For her incredible captain’s knock of 65(30), skipper @ImHarmanpreet bagged the Player of the Match award 👏👏 #GGvMI @mipaltan secured a 143-run victory over Gujarat Giants in the opening game of the #TATAWPL 👌👌 pic.twitter.com/HHbnLj8BZQ
— Women’s Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) March 4, 2023
Right from the first ball of her inning, Harmanpreet was in total control, hitting the ball from the middle of her bat. Her graceful strokeplay reminded many people of Brendon McCullum’s unbeaten 158 off 73 balls in the opening game of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008.
However, on the last ball of the 17th over from Sneh Rana, Harmanpreet was dismissed after playing an outstanding knock of 65 runs off 30 balls, hitting fourteen fours at an unbelievable strike rate of 216.66.
However, there was no stopping Kerr and Pooja Vastrakar as they kept smashing the Gujarat bowlers for boundaries to take Mumbai past 200. In the end, Vastrakar played a small cameo of 15 off 8, with three fours before getting dismissed off Rana on the second-last ball of the final over.
On the last ball of the final over, Issy Wong smashed a six to give momentum to Mumbai’s inning as they finished their total at 207/5 after the end of 20 overs.
In the last ten overs, Mumbai Indians scored 130 runs to take their innings from 77/3 to 207/5. Kerr remained unbeaten on 45 off 24 balls, scoring six fours and a maximum, while Wong remained not out on 6 runs from 1 ball.
For Gujarat, Rana took 2/43 from her four overs, while Gardner (1/38), Kanwar (1/12) and Wareham (1/30) took one wicket each. The only thing which was quite difficult to understand was that skipper Beth Mooney didn’t call Kanwar to finish her remaining two overs even after she bowled her first two overs brilliantly.
In reply, Gujarat had a massive setback while chasing a huge total, with Mooney getting injured and retired hurt in the first over of their inning. After her injury, the onus was on the other batters to put up some fight. However, Gujarat lost four wickets in quick succession, with Harleen Deol (0), Gardner (0), Sabbhineni Meghana (2), and Annabel Sutherland (6) getting out cheaply.
Gujarat was in deep trouble finishing the powerplay at 17/4, and they failed to recover from that position. In the end, the match ended in a one-sided affair as Gujarat were bundled out on 64 in 15.1 overs, with Mooney unable to return to bat.
Only two batters from Gujarat managed to get into the double digits. Dayalan Hemalatha remained unbeaten on 29 off 23, hitting one four and two sixes, while Monica Patel scored 10 off 9 , hitting two fours.
Left-arm spinner Saika Ishaque was the pick of the bowlers for Mumbai, claiming 4/11 from her 3.1 overs. Sciver-Brunt (2/5), Kerr (2/12), and Wong (1/7) were the other wicket-takers for Mumbai as they registered a dominating 143-run win in the opening game of the season.
Harmanpreet Kaur was named the Player of the Match for her outstanding 65 off 30 balls.
Brief scores: Mumbai Indians 207/5 in 20 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 65, Hayley Matthews 47, Amelia Kerr 45*; Sneh Rana 2/43) beat Gujarat Giants 64/9 in 15.1 overs (Dayalan Hemalatha 29*; Saika Ishaque 4/11, Nat Sciver-Brunt 2/5) by 143 runs.
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