The Mumbai Indians secured their second victory of the WPL 2024 when Shabnim Ismail’s outstanding new-ball bowling display in Bengaluru shattered the Gujarat Giants’ top order. She was ably aided by legspinner Amelia Kerr, who took four wickets.
The reigning champions restricted the Giants to 126 and were helped by captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s unbeaten 46 to win the mediocre chase.
Pitch report and toss update
The pitch at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium was fresh for the game, and while the top layer of grass was nicely mown, the ground beneath it was dry. The batters may find it difficult to decide whether to accelerate fully or to take it slowly. It appeared to be an excellent surface all around.
Because of the uneven terrain, there may be some variation in bounce. The Mumbai Indians women won the toss and chose to bowl first after considering the conditions and dew factor.
Shabnim Ismail ran through the top order of the Giants
With just the fourth ball of the match, pacer Shabnim Ismail made an early breakthrough when she trapped Veda Krishnamurthy, who attempted a failed review, LBW. In her next over, she similarly dismissed Harleen Deol, who had also reviewed unsuccessfully, to give the Mumbai Indians the ideal start.
Subsequently, Beth Mooney relieved some of the pressure by hitting two consecutive fours off Matthews, and Phoebe Litchfield completed the over with a reverse sweep. However, Ismail increased the stress once again with a close five-run over. Profiting from the pressure, Nat Sciver-Brunt dismissed Litchfield in the following over, bringing GG to 37/3.
In the eighth over, Dayalan Hemalatha was caught at long on by Matthews, who had now joined the party of individuals taking wickets. At the midway point, with only one boundary after the fourth over, GG reached 58/4. After that, the boundaries dried up.
Bryce and Kanwar tried to push the Giants to a respectable total
Ismail was then called back in to the attack by Harmanpreet, and she struck off her first ball, beating captain Beth Mooney (24 off 22) with a slower ball that she attempted to shuffle and scoop but barely succeeded in getting to the keeper with.
Kerr added salt to injury for GG when she dismissed Ashleigh Gardner and Sneh Rana in the same over, showcasing her range with elegant leggie and googly techniques, respectively.
Then, to help GG reach 100 and post 126/9, Tanuja Kanwer (28 off 21) and Kathryn Bryce (25 off 24) combined to stitch together a vital 48-run stand off 36 balls.
Amelia Kerr concluded with fantastic numbers of 4/17 after taking two wickets in the last over, and Shabnim Ismail finished with outstanding figures of 3/18.
Mumbai Indians started off sluggish as they lost couple of early wickets
Mumbai Indians faltered early in their 127-run chase, losing openers Yastika Bhatia and Hayley Matthews in the opening four overs. Following significant knocks for GG, Kathryn Bryce and Tanuja Kanwer maintained their confidence in the second inning, dismissing Hayley Matthews and Bhatia, respectively, to set up a solid base for the Giants.
After that, Nat Sciver-Brunt let go a little with some quick strokework, hitting three fours off scoop shots. The Mumbai Indians were starting to gain momentum when Sciver-Brunt (22 off 18) was run out by Kanwer and Mooney in a superb tag-team fielding performance.
After that, Harmanpreet and Kerr steadied the ship of the Mumbai Indians and pushed the score to 65/3 at the halfway mark.
Harmanpreet and Kerr’s partnership set the stage for the Mumbai Indians victory
After that, Amelia Kerr and Captain Harmanpreet Kaur got together and calmed the ship with singles, twos, and an odd boundary in an over to provide calmness and stability to the chase. In the 14th over, MI reached 100, and the equation came down to 27 off 36.
After the two placed MI ahead, they combined 66 (50) for the fourth wicket. Lea Tahuhu then gave GG the breakthrough by trapping Kerr (31 off 25) LBW. A small pause occurred after MI lost Pooja Vastrakar for one.
But Captain Kaur (46* off 41) maintained her composure and led MI to victory by five wickets with a six that sent them racing across the finish line. While defending a low total, Kanwar took a couple of wickets, and Bryce and Tahuhu chipped in with one wicket for the Giants.
Also Read: MI-W vs DC-W: Mumbai Indians Won A Last Ball Thriller Over Delhi In The Opening Game Of The WPL 2024