MUMBAI: Top knocks by Yastika Bhatia and Harmanpreet Kaur propelled Mumbai Indians to 162/8 against Gujarat Giants in their Women’s Premier League (WPL) match here at the Brabourne Stadium on Tuesday.
Harmanpreet was the highest run scorer for Mumbai Indians with 51 off 30 balls while Bhatia slammed crucial 44 runs in 37 deliveries. For Gujarat Giants, Ashleigh Gardner scalped three while Kim Garth, Sneh Rana and Tanuja Kanwar bagged one wicket each.
Opted to bowl first, the Gujarat Ginats team got off to a flying start as Ashleigh Gardner provided her team with a big wicket. Gardner drew the first blood as she dismissed Hayley Matthews for the three-ball duck in the first over of the match.
Nat Sciver-Brunt and Yastika Bhatia then handled the charge as they slammed Gardner for 11 runs with the help of two magnificent fours.
In the 11th over of the match, Kim Garth provided her team with a big wicket of Nat Sciver-Brunt. The star batter of Gujarat Sciver-Brunt returned to the pavilion after scoring 36 runs off 31 deliveries.
Mumbai captain Harmanpreet Kaur then came out to bat on the crease. Yastika Bhatia continued her charge and slammed Tanuja Kanwar for a boundary and gathered 9 runs in the 12th over.
Sneh Rana then came to bowl the 13th over and got an inside edge off Yastika Bhatia in the first ball, who set off straight away without looking at her partner Harmanpreet. She then tried to take run back but a good throw, straight at the wicketkeeper resulted in a run-out. Bhatia went back to the pavilion after scoring 44 off 37.
The right-handed batter Amelia Kerr then came out to bat and with captain Harmanpreet the latter slammed 9 runs off Sneh Rana with the help of stunning boundaries.
The duo of Harmanpreet and Kerr slammed Gujarat bowlers all around the ground while gathering singles at regular intervals. However, Kerr’s red-hot form at the crease came to an end as she was removed by Tanuja Kanwar for 19 runs.
Sneh Rana then gave Mumbai another blow as she removed Issy Wong for a duck. Harmanpreet shifted gears and slammed Annabel Sutherland for 14 runs with the help of two stunning sixes.
Harmanpreet brought up her 29-ball half-century after slamming back-to-back two boundaries, however, her stint at the crease was cut short Gardner removed her for 51 runs in the last over of the game.
In the same over, Gardner gave Mumbai another blow as she dismissed new batter Amanjot Kaur for a duck, restricting Mumbai India at the score of 162/8.
Brief score: Mumbai Indians 162/8 (Harmanpreet Kaur 51, Yastika Bhatia 44; Ashleigh Gardner 3-34) vs Gujarat Giants. (ANI)