Mumbai Indians make it five wins in a row as Harmanpreet shines again

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Posted: Mar 14, 2023 | Updated: 3 months ago

Mumbai Indians have qualified for the Women’s Premier League (WPL) playoff with three games to spare as captain Harmanpreet Kaur smashed 51 off 30 balls to beat Gujarat Giants by 55 runs.

Mumbai Indians have qualified for the Women’s Premier League (WPL) playoff with three games to spare as captain Harmanpreet Kaur smashed 51 off 30 balls to beat Gujarat Giants by 55 runs.

In doing so, they also became the first side to successfully defend a score of less than 200 in the tournament, having pushed to 162/8 before a ruthless bowling performance saw them limit Gujarat Giants to 107/9.

The league leaders recovered from losing Hayley Matthews in the first over, with Yastika Bhatia reaching 44 before being run out and Nat Sciver-Brunt knocking 36 off 31.

However, it was Harmanpreet who continued her unbelievable form, dragging her side to a respectable total after Bhatia’s dismissal left them 84 for 3 in the 13th over, manipulating the field expertly and smashing Annabel Sutherland for two huge sixes in the penultimate over to reach her third half-century of the WPL, pushing the pressure back onto the side they had beaten so comprehensibly in the first match of the tournament.

In that one, Kaur scored 65 from 30 as Mumbai Indians posted 207/5 before dismissing the Giants for just 64, but this match felt delicately balanced between innings before Mumbai’s bowling attack soon made the outcome certain, with Sciver-Brunt (3 for 21) trapping Sophia Dunkley in front with the first ball of the chase, before the spin of Amelia Kerr and Matthews ran riot, picking up 4 for 38 between them to leave the Giants on 57 for 6 with no way back.

This depth of match-winners is the reason MI are the only side still unbeaten in the competition, someone is bound to step up and more often than not a group of them do at the same time. They’ve defended totals twice against the Giants, but chased in their other three fixtures, losing just five wickets and securing victory with a combined total of 79 balls to spare.

Matthews’ unbeaten 77 saw them cruise home in match two against RCB with 34 balls to spare and her influence is felt even when she’s not scoring big, taking 10 wickets for 105 runs so far in the WPL.

In their third match, the bowlers took centre stage as Saika Ishaque took 3 for 13 and Wong 3 for 10 from four overs, inflicting Dehli Capitals with their only defeat of the campaign so far as they were bowled out for 105. MI followed this up by chasing down 160 to beat UP Warriorz, only losing two wickets as Kaur hit another unbeaten fifty.

Warriorz are up next on Saturday, with Mumbai Indians now looking ahead to secure an automatic spot in the final. Tiring pitches at Brabourne and DY Patil stadiums will give bowlers hope against Kaur’s team as the tournament reaches its crescendo, but the Mumbai Indians have world-class and in-form talent spread throughout the squad and it will take an enormous effort to stop them from becoming the inaugural WPL champions.

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