Shabnim Ismail and Amelia Kerr blow away the Giants as the defending champions make it two in two.
The 2nd edition of the tournament kickstarted with a bang as we witnessed back-to-back edge-of-the-seat thrillers filled with blockbuster action, drama, anticipation, you name it, and it had it all.
New heroes emerged in the form of Sajeevan Sajana’s last-ball six and Sobhana Asha (5/22) hogged all the limelight in the first couple of matches in the 2nd edition of the WPL. The Mumbai Indians skipper Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and opted to bowl first. After being inserted to bat first, the Giants lost a couple of wickets inside the first three overs, including the wicket of Harleen Deol who was one of their top performers with the bat, last season. Shabnim Ismail provided both breakthroughs for Mumbai Indians.
Phoebe Litchfield joined skipper Beth Mooney at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 26-run partnership for the 3rd wicket before Nat Sciver-Brunt picked up the wicket of Phoebe Litchfield to provide the 3rd breakthrough for her side. Dayalan Hemalatha joined skipper Beth Mooney at the crease and the duo stitched a 15-run partnership for the 4th wicket before Hayley Matthews picked up the wicket of Dayalan Hemalatha to provide the breakthrough. Skipper Beth Mooney soon made her way back to the pavilion to provide the 5th breakthrough.
Kathryn Bryce joined Ashleigh Gardner at the crease and the duo stitched a 20-run partnership for the 6th wicket before Amelia Kerr struck twice in the 14th over of the innings to push the Gujarat Giants further on the backfoot. Tanuja Kanwar joined Kathryn Bryce at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 48-run partnership for the 8th wicket before Amelia Kerr came back and picked up the wicket of Tanuja Kanwar in the last over of the innings.
The Gujarat Giants eventually ended up with a total of 126/9 in their quota of overs. Tanuja Kanwar (28 off 21 balls) Kathryn Bryce (25 off 24 balls), and skipper Beth Mooney (24 off 22 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Gujarat Giants. Amelia Kerr (4-0-17-4), and Shabnim Ismail (4-0-18-3) were the top performers with the ball for Mumbai Indians.
Chasing a target of 127, the Mumbai Indians got off to a poor start, losing both their openers inside the powerplay. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur joined Nat Sciver-Brunt at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 28-run partnership for the 3rd wicket before Nat Sciver-Brunt was found short of the crease to provide the 3rd breakthrough for Gujarat Giants. Amelia Kerr joined skipper Harmanpreet Kaur at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 66-run partnership for the 4th wicket before Lea Tahuhu came back and picked up the wicket of Amelia Kerr to provide the 4th breakthrough for the Gujarat Giants.
Mumbai Indians eventually got over the line with 5 wickets in hand and 11 balls to spare. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (46 off 41 balls) and Amelia Kerr (31 off 25 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Mumbai Indians. Tanuja Kanwar (4-0-21-2) and Kathryn Bryce (3-1-22-1) were the top performers with the ball for the Gujarat Giants.
Amelia Kerr was awarded the Player of the Match for her exceptional all-round performance, she returned with the match figures (4-0-17-4) and scored (31 off 25 balls) with the bat, playing a pivotal role in helping Mumbai Indians clinch back-to-back victories to kickstart their campaign in the 2nd edition of the WPL.