Mumbai Indians. (Photo Source: WPL)
The inaugural season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2023 got off to a sensational start as Mumbai Indians took on Gujarat Giants in the season opener of the tournament. Harmanpreet Kaur-led Mumbai Indians had just the start they were hoping for as they completely dominated Gujarat Giants in match one of the competition.
After Yastika Bhatia was dismissed early in the innings, Hayley Matthews provided the team with some much-needed stability as she scored 47 off 31 deliveries. The real star of the match, however, was skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who truly played a captain’s knock.
Kaur played an explosive innings as she scored 65 runs off 30 deliveries and propelled her side to a massive score of 207 in 20 overs. Amelia Kerr’s unbeaten 45 off 24 balls was also integral for the side, as she was a dependable batting partner for the skipper and helped Mumbai Indians get off to a fiery start in the tournament.
Gujarat Giants were left with a mountain to climb as they had to chase 208 runs in 20 overs. Things quickly went from bad to worse for them as Beth Mooney injured herself right at the start of the second innings. All eyes were set on the skipper as Gujarat Giants geared up to chase the mammoth target. However, Mooney twisted her ankle while taking a single and limped off the pitch, getting retired hurt.
After the skipper’s injury, Gujarat Giants faced a collapse as none of the batters were able to notch up runs on the scoreboard and crumbled under the relentless bowling attack of Mumbai Indians. Harleen Deol and Ashleigh Gardner were both dismissed for a duck by Nat Sciver-Brunt and Issy Wong, respectively.
Dayalan Hemalatha’s resilience was the only positive for Gujarat as her unbeaten knock of 29 off 23 balls was the highest score for them, but that too was not enough in the end as Mumbai Indians won the season opener quite comfortably by 143 runs.
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