Women's Premier League 2024

WPL 2024: Harman heroics help Mumbai Indians Women register thumping win against Gujarat Giants by five wickets

In the third match of the 2024 Women’s Premier League, Harmanpreet Kaur guided the Mumbai Indians to a four-wicket victory over the Gujarat Giants.

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Mathew K
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Harmanpreet Kaur (Source: Twitter)

In the third match of the 2024 Women’s Premier League, Harmanpreet Kaur guided the Mumbai Indians to a four-wicket victory over the Gujarat Giants. In a low-scoring encounter at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, MI showcased their continued dominance over the Gujarat Giants. Opting to bowl first after winning the toss, the Mumbai Indians women posed a significant challenge for the Gujarat Giants.

Struggling to make the most of the opportunity, the Giants found it difficult to achieve a substantial batting performance against the defending champions. Gujarat could only muster a below-par total of 126-9 in their allotted 20 overs. Despite Captain Beth Mooney's steady contribution of 24 runs, wickets tumbled at frequent intervals for the Gujarat Giants.

Tanuja Kanwar was star with bat for Giants

The batting order, under considerable pressure, witnessed multiple players failing to make significant impacts. Tanuja Kanwar emerged as the top scorer for the Giants, accumulating 28 runs at a strike rate of 133.33. Nonetheless, the team's inability to establish substantial partnerships and the frequent dismissals hampered their efforts to set a competitive total.

Under the leadership of Shabnim Ismail, the bowling attack of the Mumbai Indians women's team demonstrated its effectiveness in limiting the Gujarat Giants. Ismail made significant contributions, securing three crucial wickets and concluding with figures of 3 for 22. Additionally, Amelia Kerr's impressive performance saw her claim four wickets while conceding just 17 runs in her four overs.

Harmanpreet Kaur finished off in style

In response, the defending champions faced a shaky start, losing three wickets with just 49 runs on the board, injecting excitement into what could have been a low-scoring, one-sided affair. The opening duo of Matthews and Yastika Bhatia managed just seven runs each, while England international Brunt contributed only 22 runs. However, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Kerr steadied the innings, putting together a crucial 66-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

Despite appearing to be on track for an easy victory, the team suffered setbacks with the dismissals of Kerr and Pooja Vastrakar in the 16th and 17th overs respectively. Nonetheless, skipper Kaur remained at the crease and, unlike the previous game, she clinched victory for the team. In the earlier match against the Capitals, she was dismissed when the team needed five runs off two balls, but her teammate and debutant, Sajeevan Sajana, hit a six off the final delivery to secure victory. In this encounter, Kaur sealed the win with a six on the first ball of the penultimate over, leading her team to a five-wicket triumph.