New Delhi [India], March 9 (ANI): A batting masterclass from skipper Harmanpreet Kaur powered Mumbai Indians to a seven-wicket win against Gujarat Giants on Saturday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Harmanpreet produced arguably the performance of the season with the bat as she sent the ball to different parts of the field through her stellar knock of 95*.
When the rest of the batters struggled to pick up boundaries, Harmanpreet struck ten fours and five maximums to send the defending champions to the top of the table.
Chasing 191, MI got off to a positive start in the powerplay but things eventually slowed down once Hayley Mathews (18) was dismissed by Tanuja Kanwar.
Nat Sciver-Brunt failed to get to a decent start as the asking rate continued to rise high putting Mumbai’s back against the wall.
Yastika Bhatia, who played some beautiful shots in the powerplay, got dismissed after scoring 49. From that point, Harmanpreet shifted through gears when MI required 72 off 30 deliveries.
Gujarat bowlers floundered in their bowling line and lengths after Harmanpreet’s ambush. Her effortless knock left Gujarat in the dust as MI sailed to a comfortable seven-wicket win.
Earlier in the innings, after winning the toss and opting to bat, skipper Beth Mooney’s side put up a challenging total.
Only 51 runs came off the last seven overs.
After Laura Wolvaardt’s dismissal, Mooney and Dayalan Hemalatha got the run rate up and scored at a brisk pace.
They kept finding boundaries consistently and didn’t give the opposition bowlers even a second to settle.
Both players scored fifties and put up a 100-run stand. Gujarat looked destined for a score past 200 runs but they lost a flurry of wickets in the death overs.
MIW bowlers found their rhythm and dismissed Mooney (66) and Dayalan (74) to get back into the game. A cameo from Fulmali (21*) propelled Gujarat to 190/7.
Brief Score: Gujarat Giants 190/7 (Dayalan Hemalatha 74, Beth Mooney 66; Saika Ishaque 2-31) vs Mumbai Indians 191/3 (Harmanpreet Kaur 95*, Yastika Bhatia 49; Tanuja Kanwar 1-21). (ANI)
