Mumbai Indians topple Gujarat Giants to win WPL opener
In the very first game of the Women’s Premier League, Mumbai Indians kept up with the brand name and proved that they are a strong team not just on the paper, but on the field as well. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side performed brilliantly across all departments and clinched a massive 143 runs victory against Gujarat Giants in the curtain raiser to open their campaign in style.
Harmanpreet Kaur has been very unlucky at the toss, and so was the case in the first game of the WPL as Gujarat Giants skipper Beth Mooney put Mumbai to bat first. Mumbai Indians were handed an early blow as their opening batter Yastika Bhatia was dismissed cheaply scoring mere one run from eight deliveries. But what followed next was total domination by the batters.
Nat Sciver-Brunt joined Hayley Matthews in the third over and the duo added 54 runs for the second-wicket partnership. Sciver started on a high note but could not get a big score. Matthews fell three runs short of a half-century as Ashleigh Gardner dismissed her in the 10th over. But even after losing three wickets, Mumbai Indians did not lose the momentum and the batters kept piling up runs.
In came skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, and changed the course of the game with the bat. Leading from the front, Kaur took on the opposition bowlers fearlessly and scored the first half-century of WPL 2023 in just 22 balls. Before walking back to the pavilion, Kaur scored a quick-fire 65 off 30 deliveries, including 14 boundaries, which kept her side in the driver’s seat. Amelia Kerr played the all-rounder’s role to perfection as she added 89 runs to the fourth wicket alongside Kaur.
She also build a crucial 35-run fifth partnership with Pooja Vastrakar as the duo led MI’s charge with the bat after Kaur’s dismissal. Thanks to their aggressive style of play and Issy Wong’s huge six off the innings’ final delivery, Mumbai Indians posted a humungous total of 207/5, thereby keeping Gujarat Giants on the edge for the first victory.
Saika Ishaque shines with the ball to take Mumbai to memorable win
Gujarat Giants start to the chase was not ideal as skipper Beth Mooney walked off the crease and retired hurt in the very first over. Nat Sciver was at her best in the second innings as she handed her side the first breakthrough by dismissing Harleen Deol in the very first over. She then returned in the third over of the game and sent Sabbhineni Meghana packing after Issy Wong dismissed Gardner in the previous over.
After the international players made an impact in the game, Kolkata-born Saika Ishaque stole the limelight by picking not one, but three key wickets. She dismissed Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, and Mansi Joshi in the first three overs of her spell and left a remark in the very first game.
Wickets kept falling like dominos, but Dayalan Hemalatha anchored the innings and kept adding runs during the chase. Hemalatha, for her 23-ball 29 finished as the top-scorer for her side as no other batter could even cross the 10-run mark.
Bowling her fourth and final over of the spell, Saika Ishaque struck again and completed a four-wicket haul, which led to Gujarat Giants being skittled out for 64 runs. As a result, Mumbai Indians clinched a massive 143-run victory and marked the start of their WPL campaign in style.
