WPL 2024, Match 16: Mumbai Indians Women vs Gujarat Giants Women, Sixteenth Match - Who Said What?

Mumbai Indians Women stunned Gujarat Giants Women in Match 16 of Women's Premier League (WPL) 2024 as they beat them by seven wickets in Match 16 at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. After opting to bat first, Gujarat posted a massive score of 190/7 in their allotted 20 overs. In reply, Mumbai chased down the target on the penultimate ball courtesy of a scintillating knock from captain Harmanpreet Kaur (95* off 48).

MI got off to a good start in the chase with openers Yastika Bhatia (49 off 36) and Hayley Matthews (18 off 21) adding 50 runs for the first wicket. However, after a good start, Mumbai were reduced to 98/3 after 13.3 overs with Harmanpreet and Amelia Kerr at the crease. The MI captain single-handedly turned the game on its head scoring 75 runs off 27 balls.

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Earlier in the day, after opting to bat first, Gujarat didn’t get off to a memorable start losing opener Laura Wolvaardt (13 off 14) in the third over itself. After the early blow, captain Beth Mooney continued her marvellous form and registered her second consecutive half-century of the tournament. She was well supported by Dayalan Hemalatha who also played a breathtaking innings of 74 (40) with the help of nine fours and two sixes.

The duo got involved in a massive stand of 121 off 62 balls for the second wicket taking their team’s total past 130. Following their dismissals, Bharati Fulamli played a brilliant cameo of 21* (13) to help her side finish on 190/7 in their allotted 20 overs.

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Here’s what the two captains and the Player of the Match said after the game:

Losing Captain, Beth Mooney, Gujarat Giants, said:

I guess, T20 cricket, you really have to bowl well to defend these. We thought 190 was a good score. It’s really tough. 49m boundaries are really tough no matter what tournament you’re playing in. Mumbai batted really well. There’s still a lot of positives, certainly from a batting perspective we’re clicking. Just one or two balls that are going for boundaries, can probably keep things a little tighter. She (Hemalatha) made my life a lot easier, she said she enjoys batting with me. She might swing herself off her feet one day but she’s a great teammate to have.

Winning Captain and Player of the Match, Harmanpreet Kaur, Mumbai Indians said:

It was a very big game for us, we had to win so that we wouldn’t put any pressure on us (going forward). We knew we had a long batting order and we could get the job done. Definitely have an eye on finishing first to get into the final directly. Had a chat with Himanshu bhaiya about my batting and how I can improve, was thinking about staying there and looked for a big innings. They are experienced players and when you’re chasing a big total, a lot of things are clear, like how much you need. We could then rotate the strike and take it as it came. We thought that we have a little break, have some water and see what message would come, we knew targeting the 19th over would be crucial.