Kaur stands tall and guides Mumbai to a record-breaking win
Harmanpreet Kaur put on a clinic on how to chase down a total as she led Mumbai Indians to a seven-wicket win over the Gujarat Giants in a thrilling Tata WPL match played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, on Saturday. MI's victory sends them to the top of the table with 10 points and minimizes the Giants' chances of making the playoffs.
The Giants won the toss, chose to put runs on the board and finished with 190 for seven. In reply, Kaur played an innings of a lifetime to lead her side to 191 for three in 19.5 overs. 191 runs is a record run-chase, the highest total chased down in the history of the tournament.
Harmanpreet Kaur's 48-ball 95* powers Mumbai Indians to a sensational 7-wicket victory over Gujarat Giants and seals their place in the #WPL2024 playoffs. pic.twitter.com/KvP9J6EvHE
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) March 9, 2024
Kaur was striking at a rate of 197.91 as she flayed 10 fours and five sixes on her way to an unbeaten 95 off 48 balls. The MI captain started slow, going at around a run-a-ball in the initial phase of her game. Most of that was out of necessity as MI had lost early wickets. They lost Hayley Matthews and Nat Sciver-Brunt in the space of six deliveries and MI was on 57 for two when Kaur walked in to join Yastika Bhatia in the middle.
For a while, it looked like Bhatia was fighting a lone battle as she compiled an impressive 49 off 36 deliveries. Her knock gave Kaur the freedom to bid her time and take the game deep. The experienced India Women's captain waited until the 17th over before she unfurled her range of shots. Kaur put on a masterclass in death-hitting, helping MI score 52 runs in the last three overs.
HIGHEST SUCCESSFUL RUN CHASE IN WPL HISTORY 🥹🥹💙💙💙
— Vinesh Bhai (@vlp1994) March 9, 2024
Mumbai Indians and Harmanpreet Kaur create history 🔥🔥
I AM GOING CRAZYYYYY!!!!#WPL2024 pic.twitter.com/ksCHLHFp8N
The 35-year-old faced 33 deliveries to bring up her second half-century of the season and then needed a mere 15 deliveries for her next 45 runs. Amelia Kerr (12*), who joined Kaur after the dismissal of Bhatia in the 14th over, had the best seat in the house to enjoy the Kaur show.
Earlier in the day, Beth Mooney and Dayalan Hemalatha had set the Arun Jaitley Stadium alight with five sixes and 17 fours as they scored half-tons for the Giants. Mooney led from the front, carving eight fours and three sixes for her 66 off 35, and Hemalatha struck nine fours and two sixes in her enterprising knock of 74 off 40.
No Mumbai Indians fan will pass without liking this tweet #TATAWPL #WPL2024 #MIvGG pic.twitter.com/BAbySUps6C
— Mumbai Indians FC (@MIPaltanFamily) March 9, 2024
Their 121-run second-wicket stand swung the match heavily in the Giants' favour. The partnership forced Harmanpreet Kaur to try seven bowlers and employ unorthodox field placements in an attempt to stem the flow of runs. Kaur struck gold when she brought in her eighth bowler, Sajeevana Sajana. The spinner struck with her first delivery to send Mooney packing.
With Mooney gone, Hemalatha continued with her enterprising knock while the Giants lost a bunch of wickets at the other end. But, 3.2 overs after Mooney's dismissal, Hemalatha was undone by Shabnim Ismail. From there, the Giants collapsed and stumbled to 190, a score about 20 runs short of where they should have been had Mooney and Hemalatha continued.
Saika Ishaque was the standout bowler for MI with two wickets for 31 runs in four overs. Sajeevana Sajana, Pooja Vastrakar, Shabnim Ismail and Hayley Matthews all took a wicket each. Ashleigh Gardner, Tanuja Kanwar and Shabnam MD took a wicket each for the Giants.
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