No. 7 has been lucky for IPL and I hope that luck continues in WPL too: Harmanpreet Kaur

The Mumbai Indians rose to the top of the WPL 2024 table( before Delhi reclaimed the spot with a win over Gujarat) with a seven-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday. They overhauled the 132-run target in 15.1 overs and now have six points from four games. JioCinema and Sports18 WPL experts Reema Malhotra and Sushma Verma discussed MI’s performance. MI captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who missed the match because of injury, too, spoke around the match.

Harmanpreet Kaur, MI captain, on wearing the iconic No. 7 jersey: “I think No. 7 has been lucky for the IPL and I hope that luck continues in the WPL too. It was my number when I played in school, I always used to get that. My Indian team jersey number was different but I just thought that I’d like it more if I could continue with the number I used in school. So one day, I just took the numbers back.”

On the road ahead: “The venue will be changing and we'll be moving to Delhi. The first thing is to get there and read the conditions. We’ll plan accordingly. It’s tough to plan that far ahead from here right now. The second we land, we'll go to the ground and evaluate the pitch, the outfield, and we’ll make the team and future plans accordingly.”

Sushma Verma spoke on Nat Sciver-Brunt’s performance: “This is what she’s been doing for England. It’s not like she’s a brand new captain exclusively for this format. She’s a big name and the performance reflected that. We expected that she’d finish the game with the bat as Harman often plays that role, but with her shot selection, I’d say, she attempted to hit the ball a little early. Otherwise, she could’ve had a complete ‘leading from the front’ captain’s innings. Harman is a separate captain and player. Nat Sciver-Brunt tried to replicate that. The best thing for them as a bowling unit was about how everyone chipped in and picked up back-to-back wickets, not allowing anyone to settle.”

Also Read: WPL 2024: Harleen Deol, Sneh Rana's absence intensifies Gujarat Giants' problems

Reema Malhotra spoke on the Mumbai Indians being title contenders again: “This is a team who have been champions and still play like champions. Harmanpreet Kaur played like a champion (when fit). They beat RCB on their home ground tonight and RCB are a strong team. This team has a positive atmosphere around it, and they have a number of match-winners. Nat Sciver-Brunt captained well in Harmanpreet’s absence, and Hayley Matthews has played well. The bowling unit did its job. Their Indian players, especially Pooja and Saika did well. I’ve always felt if your Indian players play well, you will be successful.”