Deepti Sharma’s UP Warriorz signed off their campaign in the 3rd edition of the tournament on a high with a 12-run win in a run fest against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Ekana Stadium, in Lucknow on a special occasion of the International Women’s Day. The WPL caravan moves to the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai, for the 4th and the final phase of the ongoing 3rd edition of the tournament.
Hosts Mumbai Indians, led by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, were up against the Gujarat Giants, led by skipper Ashleigh Gardner in the penultimate game of the league stages of WPL 2025.
The visitors, Gujarat Giants, made one change, bringing in Simran Shaikh for Dayalan Hemalatha in the playing 11. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side retained the same side that took the field in their previous game.
Harmanpreet Kaur’s fifty, Amanjot Kaur’s cameo takes Mumbai to a par total
Mumbai Indians continued with the same opening combination of Amelia Karr and Hayley Matthews as they provided with a steady 17-run start, after the Giants skipper Ashleigh Gardner won the toss and inserted them to bat first at the Brabourne Stadium.
A run-out ended Amelia Kerr’s stay at the crease providing the first breakthrough for the Gujarat Giants. Nat Sciver-Brunt joined Hayley Matthews at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 29-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to take their side closer to the 50-run mark. Priya Mishra picked up the wicket of Hayley Matthews to provide the 2nd breakthrough for the Giants.
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur joined Nat Sciver-Brunt at the crease and the duo took their side past the 100-run mark with a crucial 59-run stand for the 3rd wicket, before the Giants skipper Ashleigh Gardner took the matter into her hands, breaking the ominous stand by removing Nat Sciver-Brunt (38 off 31 balls) in the 14th over of the innings.
Amanjot Kaur’s cameo (27 off 15 balls) kept the momentum going for the Mumbai Indians. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (54 off 33 balls) completed her 7th half-century. Mumbai Indians eventually ended up with a total of 179/6 in their quota of 20 overs. Cameos from wicket-keeper batter Yastika Bhatia (13 off 4 balls), and Sajeevan Sajana (11* off 6 balls) propelled them closer to the 180-run mark.
Skipper Ashleigh Gardner (4-0-27-1), Priya Mishra (3-0-23-1), Kashvee Gautam (4-0-32-1), and Tanuja Kanwer (4-0-41-1) picked up a wicket each with the ball for the Gujarat Giants.
Bharti Fulmali’s fighting maiden half-century in vain as Giants fall short
Giants pulled out another promotion as Kashvee Gautam stepped out to open the innings alongside the wicket-keeper batter Beth Mooney, chasing a stiff total of 180. However, the move didn’t quite work as the lack of strike rotation built a lot of pressure which resulted in the big wicket of the wicket-keeper batter Beth Mooney in the 4th over of the run chase. Hayley Matthews provided the first breakthrough for Mumbai Indians.
Harleen Deol joined Kashvee Gautam at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 25-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to take their side closer to the 50-run mark. Sanskriti Gupta broke the stand by removing Kashvee Gautam on the penultimate ball of the powerplay to provide the 2nd breakthrough for the home side.
The Giants suffered a collapse as they lost their next four wickets for just 52 runs and they found themselves in deep trouble at 92/6 in the 14th over of the run chase, especially with Deandra Dottin back into the pavilion. Siman Shaikh joined Bharti Fulmali at the crease and the pair kept throwing the punches to keep the Giants in the hunt in the run chase, en route to their much-needed 50-run partnership for the 7th wicket to take their side closer to the 150-run mark.
Bharti Fulmali completed her maiden half-century in WPL, before getting dismissed (61 off 25 balls) in the 17th over of the run chase. Amelia Kerr got the big scalp for the home side. Tanuja Kanwer (10 off 6 balls) joined Simran Shaikh (18 off 16 balls) at the crease and the duo tried their best to keep the Giants in the hunt and potentially guide their side over the line. However, Gujarat fell just 9 runs short of the target, getting bundled out for 170 on the final ball of the innings.
Amelia Kerr (4-0-34-3), and Hayley Matthews (4-0-38-3) picked up three wickets each, while Shabnim Ismail (4-0-17-2) was sensational with the ball for the Mumbai Indians. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was awarded the Player of the Match for her crucial half-century (54 off 33 balls) with the bat for her side. The win places them as the strong contenders to book a direct entry into the final of the ongoing 3rd edition of the WPL, with a game to go against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
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