In WPL 2024, Captain Harmanpreet and Amelia steer MI to victory
In the Women’s Premier League at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday, the Mumbai Indians secured a five-wicket victory over the Gujarat Giants. Harmanpreet Kaur chose to field first after winning the toss, and it quickly turned out to be the right decision on a two-paced pitch.
The defending champions were a well-oiled machine on the field. Harmanpreet was spot on with her field placements, and the experienced bowling line-up restricted the Giants to 126/9.
After an early wobble in the run-chase, Amelia Kerr (31) and Harmanpreet Kaur (46 n.o.) strung together a 66-run partnership as MI extended their win streak against the Giants to three.
Earlier, Shabnim Ismail (3/18) mixed her pace and lengths beautifully, dismissing Veda Krishnamurthy and HarleenDeol leg-before with a couple of off-cutters before accounting for Beth Mooney.
MI lost both their openers, Yastika Bhatia and Hayley Matthews, to soft dismissals early in the run chase. Kathryn had Yastika caught at mid-off in a wicket maiden, while Hayley found the safe hands of Ashleigh Gardner.
Harmanpreet and Natalie showed their elan with some eye-catching shots, and just as the partnership was flourishing, Tanuja ran Natalie out with a pin-point throw.
Amelia, who came in at five, read the situation of the game perfectly but could not stick around till the end. The Giants saw a glimmer of hope as the impressive Tanuja castled Pooja Vastrakar.
But Harmanpreet showed composure to carry her team over the line. The MI skipper anchored the chase perfectly, unfurling a series of late cuts and pre-meditated reverse sweeps to seal victory in style with 11 balls to spare.