The inaugural champions Mumbai Indians led by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur landed a knockout punch to Ashleigh Gardner’s Gujarat Giants, who made their maiden appearance in the Eliminator, courtesy of a 47-run win on 13th March 2025 (Thursday).
Mumbai Indians were in for a stern test as they had to go past Meg Lanning’s two-time runners-up Delhi Capitals if they were to get their hands on their 2nd title in the Women’s Premier League at the Brabourne Stadium, in Mumbai. Capitals made one change, Nallapureddy Charani replaced Titas Sadhu in the starting 11 for the Delhi Capitals. Mumbai Indians on the other hand, retained the same side that took the field in the Eliminator.
Harmanpreet Kaur leads the charge with her 8th WPL fifth as Mumbai post 149
A sensational spell from the new-ball bowlers Marizanne Kapp and Shikha Pandey aided by exceptional efforts on the field by the Capitals gave the best powerplay returns (20/2) after skipper Meg Lanning won the toss and opted to bowl first in the grand finale at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur joined Nat Sciver-Brunt at the crease inside the powerplay. Kaur continued from where she left in the Eliminator, leading from the front, she counter-attacked to bail the home side out of trouble. She found brilliant support from the in-form Nat Sciver-Brunt who played 2nd fiddle to the MI skipper, as the pair weathered the storm en route to their massive 89-run partnership for the 3rd wicket taking the home side past the 100-run mark in the process.
Nallapureddy Charani ended Nat Sciver-Brunt’s stay at the crease (30 off 28 balls) courtesy of a brilliant catch from Minnu Mani, providing a much-needed 3rd breakthrough for the Capitals. The platform was set for a solid finish to the innings. Mumbai got just enough impetus towards the end of the innings to post a total on the cusp of the 150-run mark (149/7) in their quota of 20 overs.
Amanjot Kaur (14* off 7 balls), and Sanskriti Gupta (8* off 5 balls) provided the finishing touches. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (66 off 44 balls) top scored with the bat for her side. Marizanne Kapp (4-0-11-2) was exceptional with the ball in the powerplay for the Capitals, Jess Jonassen (4-0-43-2), and Nallapureddy Charani (3-0-26-2) picked up a couple of wickets each, while Annabel Sutherland (4-0-29-1), and Shikha Pandey (4-0-29-0) kept the lid on the scoring rate.
Marizanne Kapp and Niki Prasad’s fight in vain as Mumbai Indians claim title
Chasing a total of 150, the Capitals openers, Shafali Verma and skipper Meg Lanning struggled to get off the blocks quickly. Nat Sciver-Brunt got the big scalp as she cleaned up the opposition skipper Meg Lanning to provide the massive first breakthrough for the home side in the 2nd over of the run chase. Shafali Verma soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 2nd breakthrough for Mumbai Indians.
The Capitals kept losing wickets at regular intervals and found themselves in deep trouble at 83/6 in the 13th over of the run chase. Niki Prasad joined Marizanne Kapp at the crease and the duo refused to give up as Marizanne Kapp led the counter-attack and Niki Prasad provided the support from the other end en route to their much-needed 40-run partnership for the 7th wicket to take their side closer to the 130-run mark.
Nat Sciver-Brunt returned and landed another punch by removing the ominous Marizanne Kapp (40 off 26 balls) in the 18th over of the run chase. Niki Prasad (25 off 23 balls) tried her best to get her side over the line, however, unfortunately, it wasn’t good enough for their side to clinch their maiden WPL title, as they fell eight runs short of the target, ending their innings on 141/9 in their quota of overs. Jemimah Rodrigues (30 off 21 balls) was the one who looked poised to guide her side over the line, but it wasn’t to be for the Capitals.
Nat Sciver-Brunt (4-0-30-3) and Shabnim Ismail (4-0-15-1) were exceptional with the ball, while Amelia Kerr (4-0-25-2) played her part with the ball for Mumbai Indians. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant half-century (66 off 44 balls), leading from the front for her side. Nat Sciver-Brunt was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) or the Player of the Tournament for scoring a record 523 runs at an incredible strike rate of 152.47 and a mind-boggling average of 65.37 in 10 innings, which included five half-centuries in the tournament.
Besides her exploits with the bat, she also picked up 12 wickets at an average of 22.50 and with an economy of 7.94 in 10 innings with the ball, for her side in the tournament. She played a pivotal role as Harmanpreet Kaur-led Mumbai Indians clinched their 2nd title in three editions of the Women’s Premier League (WPL).
Loves all things female cricket