The match between Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Giants, the 19th of Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025 was a nail-biter, to say the least. For a brief moment, Mumbai would have felt the nerves as the Giants lower order took charge, Bharti Fulmali in particular, however it was Mumbai, who extended their dominance over Giants with a 6th straight win in WPL history.
Mumbai Indians batter Yastika Bhatia, reflecting on the tense finish, said (translated from Hindi), “We were anxious, none of us anticipated it would be this close. Credit to the GG batters, they hit a lot of 6s and got the game closer, but our bowlers also did well to hold their nerves in the end, and that’s a good thing.”
Hayley Matthews, who had a brilliant game, taking 3 wickets and chipping in scoring 27 runs, also spoke about her team’s performance, saying, “Yea I think we kinda noticed by then what the batter was doing, and I just tried to go into the wicket. I think Harmanpreet Kaur came to talk to me and told me to stay calm, and thankfully I got through the pressure situation.
“I knew I wanted to bowl into the wicket, and thankfully I did that. Thankfully I have got a bit of experience in pressure situations; I knew what I wanted to bowl, and I did that.” She highlighted her tactics while bowling to right-handed batters and how her experience helped her stay composed.
Despite her excellent bowling performance, Matthews expressed disappointment about her dropped catch, saying, “Yea I am obviously bummed that I didn’t get the catch, but I heard, and I saw where Amanjot was, and I figured it was a run-out,” sharing her relief after the successful run-out that followed her dropped chance on the same ball.
Yastika Bhatia highlighted the team’s winning mentality, saying, “Our aim has always been that we want to win the tournament, and this win is a steppingstone. We don’t talk much about the results; we focus on the process. Right now, it’s going well, and we focus on what is working for us right now.”
Matthews echoed similar sentiment, discussing the team’s positive trajectory in the tournament, “Yea we have got ourselves in a pretty good position now. Coming here to Mumbai, knowing that if we want to go to two, we would depend on that last match that Delhi played. Like I said, we have done well to win tonight, and hopefully, we can have a big win tomorrow and then an opportunity to take a break, have a few days off, and rest and recoup before the big finals.”
Yastika also took a moment to appreciate the fans, saying, “It’s a very cute crowd. When they cheer, it feels so good, and I hope they enjoyed the match and that we can keep on entertaining them,” signing off with gratitude towards the Mumbai supporters.
(Quotes sourced from video posted by WPLT20 on Instagram)
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