Mumbai Indians defeated Gujarat Giants by 55 runs after scoring 162 runs. Its inning was stifled a little by what was possibly the best display of fielding in the WPL thus far, as the Giants women flung themselves to stop the ball and plucked catches out of thin air.
Such catches almost always win matches. But not against the MI team. Harmanpreet took the lead once more. She hit some tasty shots in her 30-ball 51. (7×4, 2×6). And earlier in the inning, Yastika Bhatia (44, 37b, 5×4, 1×6) provided impetus.
She showed off her diverse range of shots once more before unexpectedly running out of time. She had previously shared a 74-run second-wicket stand with Nat Sciver-Brunt (36, 31b, 5×4, 1×6).
Harleen Deol stood out for the Giants even on a night when many of her teammates performed admirably in the field. She dashed across the field and made a two-handed diving catch at wide long-on.
She had previously run Humaira Kazi out with a direct hit from the deep. Kim Garth had earlier taken a blinder, running back from near the circle on the off to send back Amelia Kerr (19, 13b, 2×4) off Tanuja Kanwar’s left-arm spin.
The Giants’ chase got off to a bad start, with Sophia Dunkley lbw to Sciver-Brunt on the first ball of the innings. And the chase never got started. No Giants batter reached the age of 25.
Saika Ishaque, wearing the Purple Cap, went wicketless for the first time for MI, but it didn’t matter. As is common with good sides, the other bowlers raised their hands.
