Mumbai Indians (MI) maintained their 100 per cent success rate against Gujarat Giants (GG) in three Women’s Premier League (WPL) seasons. In the Eliminator at the Brabourne Stadium on Thursday, MI defeated GG by 47 runs. Led by a 133-run stand between opener Hayley Matthews (77, 50b, 10×4, 3×6) and No. 3, Orange Cap-holder Natalie Sciver-Brunt (77, 41b, 10×4, 2×6) for the second wicket, and a quickfire 36 off just 12 deliveries with two fours and four sixes by captain Harmanpreet Kaur, MI posted their highest ever total in WPL, 213-4.
Four dropped catches
MI were also the beneficiaries of four dropped catches, Matthews twice, Sciver-Brunt and Kaur once each, being the lucky ones. Besides, there were a few misfields by GG, gifting away boundaries that cost them. On the contrary, MI’s fielding was sharp and their catching, safe. MI bowlers, again led by Matthews’ off-spin (3-31) to add to her sharp catch at slip to dismiss opener Beth Mooney, bowled out GG for 166.
Also Read: Women’s ODI WC Qualifier 2025 to be held in Lahore from Apr 9 to 19
GG head coach Michael Klinger accepted his team were not at their best on the field. Klinger said: “We came here ready for a tough game. We thought if we played anywhere near our best, we`d be able to win the game. Our fielding wasn`t great tonight. Mumbai Indians` fielding was fantastic. We would have liked to put in a better performance in the field. I think there was about a 40-run swing there. I thought probably minus-20 to us and plus-20 to them. And we lost by 47 runs. So, sometimes that can be the big difference in the game. With that, the partnership between Hayley and Nat was a match-winning one. Sometimes, you`ve just got to take your hat off and say well done and credit to them.”
‘Pitch played pretty well’
Klinger also admitted to misreading the pitch. GG captain Gardner won the toss and surprisingly chose to bowl, especially after all teams batting first have won at Brabourne this WPL. The 44-year-old Australian said: “We may have actually misread it slightly. We actually felt the wicket had a little bit of tackiness in it when we saw it before the toss. And we thought it may have done a little bit with the new ball in the first innings. Or even just held and spun a little bit. But that wasn`t the case. It played pretty well. But tosses in T20 cricket don`t win you games. In fact, it was soaking wet out there in the second half tonight. So, it probably would have been a lot easier bowling first than second. But when you are chasing a 200-plus score, it puts the batting group under pressure.”
