WPL 2024: Harmanpreet Kaur, the Mumbai Indians captain, struck an undefeated 95 to lead her team to a last-ball victory over Beth Mooney’s Gujarat Giants at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. MI’s win increased their lead to 10 points, allowing them to secure a spot as the first team to qualify for the playoffs.
Gujarat won the toss and opted to bat first in the WPL 2024 game. Beth Mooney and Laura Wolvaardt walked down the ground to commence the inning off on a sighed note with just a single to get Wolvaardt off the mark. That was followed by two boundaries from her bat in the second over. The third over saw an early dismissal of Wolvaardt as she hit her final boundary after one from Mooney to start for the pavilion on the over’s fifth ball as Hayley Matthews bowled her out.
But that certainly didn’t upset Mooney as she went the extra mile to hit a couple of back-to-back boundaries in the fourth and fifth over before going for her and her team’s first maximum in the last over of the powerplay to put the score at for the loss of 1. And Dayalan Hemalatha too got the spaces filled with her timely boundaries, her first in the seventh, the second in the ninth over and then she was on a higher note to bring two more boundaries along with her first six in the 10th over.
It boosted Mooney a scaler higher to come back with two back-to-back sixes in the 12th over of the WPL 2024 which was contemplated well by Hemalatha in the 13th over with a six more. The fourteenth over saw Mooney finally succumbing to Sajeevan Sajana’s delivery mightily proving the needed breakthrough for her team but that hardly kept things changed for Giants as Hemalatha bounced back and rebuked Sajana with two consecutive boundaries in the same over. Despite the soaring run rate, an unfortunate Phoebe Litchfield met her dismissal in the 15th over.
Batting skills on display 💥
— Women's Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) March 9, 2024
What target will @giant_cricket set tonight? 🎯
Live 💻📱https://t.co/LzrO32nWbK #TATAWPL | #MIvGG pic.twitter.com/6OfCUHnCjB
ALSO READ: WPL 2024: Gujarat Giants (GG) – SWOT Analysis
Hemalatha kept charging from one end with her other boundary in the 16th over, but the other end was left loose as the next batter to depart back to the dugout was Ashleigh Gardner at just 1 off 3 followed by Hemalatha finally facing a bend in the 17th over as Shabnim Ismail got her wicket finely. And after an 18th over filled with three-four singles and a double, the 19th over witnessed a power-packed boundary from Kathryn Bryce and another from Bharti Fulmali before Bryce left in the same over.
The last over concluded with a wicket of Sneh Rana followed by the final six and a double from the bat of Fulmali to halt the scoreboard at 190 for the loss of 7. The chase started with four runs coming as a bye on the very first ball and Yastika Bhatia was off the mark on the second ball with a single which saw Ashleigh Gardner being obstructed well by Hayley Matthews by four back-to-back dot balls post that.
But Bhatia looked all set right from the pavilion as she went on to score runs on her own pace starting the second over with a boundary and a six post that was followed by one more in the third over which was contemplated well by Matthews who raised the bar with three consecutive boundaries in the fourth over.
Hurricane Harman hits Delhi! 🌪️
— Women's Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) March 9, 2024
The #MI skipper smacks 24 off the 18th over 🔥🔥
Live 💻📱https://t.co/LzrO32nWbK #TATAWPL | #MIvGG | @ImHarmanpreet pic.twitter.com/Sv1Yd1fVnW
The powerplay summed up at 50 for no loss with Bhatia going up with two boundaries in the fifth over and one from the bat of Matthews in the following over along with a couple of singles. But Matthews had to depart early in the chase in the 7th over which concluded with Bhatia getting another bye-four in the same over. And it was seeming worse for Indians as Nat Sciver-Brunt which was again overcome by Bhatia with a boundary in the same over and one each in the 9th and 10th over.
ALSO READ: WPL 2024: Mumbai Indians (MI) – SWOT Analysis
The skipper was starting the chase from her end with a banging boundary in the 11th over followed by another in the 12th over which was regarded well by a four in the same over by Bhatia before she finally met her unfortunate dismissal just a run ahead of her fifty in the 14th over as Gardner caught and bowled her out.
But Kaur lifted things up quickly with her elegance with the bat in the 15th over with a maximum on the very first ball followed by two consecutive boundaries which went on to add a boundary each in the 16th and 17th over with a six from Amelia Kerr’s bat.
The defending champions are the first team to qualify for the #TATAWPL 2024 Playoffs 🤩#GGvMI | @mipaltan pic.twitter.com/6traS0oL45
— Women's Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) March 9, 2024
Kaur was laid with the air that boosted power-packed energy into her bat and the smashes that brought the Women’s Premier League special over which saw a four, a six, two more back-to-back four and finally with a concluding six on the last ball of the 18th over.
The skipper was back in form with this knock that was getting higher and surging with every passing ball. She went on to hit another six in the 19th over that was pulled off in style. She sealed the deal for the final time with a six and a four consecutively that was laid finely with three singles that brought the winning runs on the board.
WPL 2024: Mumbai Indians vs Gujarat Giants Match 16 Brief Scores
Gujarat Giants 190/7 in 20 overs (D Hemalatha 74, Beth Mooney 66; Saika Ishaque 2-31, S Sajana 1-11) beat Mumbai Indians 191/3 in 19.5 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 95*, Yastika Bhatia 49; Ash Gardner 1-22) by 7 wickets
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