WPL 2023 Gujarat Giants Women v Mumbai Indians Women, Match 1: Kaur stars in Mumbai's massive win

Mumbai Indians started their campaign in the inaugural Women's Premier League (WPL) with a massive 143 run win over Gujarat Guants in the first-ever game at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Saturday.

After being asked to bat, Mumbai posted a massive 207 for five in their 20 overs and in their response Gujarat was restricted for just 64 in just 15.1 overs.

Earlier, Mumbai Indians started off brilliantly thanks to a 54 run second wicket stand between Hayley Matthews and Nat Sciver-Brunt. Matthews made 47 off 31 balls with three boundaries and four sixes. Then skipper Harmanpreet Kaur teamed up with Amelia Kerr to add 99 runs for the fourth wicket. Kaur finished on 65 off just 30 balls with 14 boundaries. Kerr remained unbeaten on 45 off 24 balls with six boundaries and a six. In the end Mumbai Indians finished on 207 for five in their 20 overs. The best bowler for Gujarat Giants was Sneh Rana (2-43).

In their response Gujarat lost their captain Beth Mooney to an injury and they never recovered from that loss.
None of the other batters made any kind of impact. They had a total of four batters getting out for a duck. Gujarat was struggling at 12 for four and then 23 for seven. The game was over by then. Dayan Hemlatha delayed the inevitable as he remained unbeaten on 29 off 23 balls. She shared a 26 run stand for the eighth wicket with Mansi Joshi. But it was not long before the contest was over as Mooney could not return to bat. Gujarat was restricted to 64 in 15.1 overs. For Mumbai the best bowlers were Saika Ishaque (4-11), Nat Sciver-Brunt (2-5) and Amelia Kerr (2-12).

Match Summary
Mumbai Indians Women: 207-5 (20)
Fall of wickets: 1-15 (Yastika Bhatia-2.3 ov), 2-69 (Nat Sciver-Brunt-8.5 ov), 3-77 (Hayley Matthews-9.6 ov), 4-166 (Harmanpreet Kaur-16.6 ov), 5-201 (Pooja Vastrakar-19.5 ov)

Gujarat Giants: 64-9 (15.1)
Fall of wickets: 0-1* (Beth Mooneyretired hurt), 1-1 (Harleen Deol-0.6 ov), 2-3 (Ashleigh Gardner-1.2 ov), 3-5 (Sabbhineni Meghana-2.3 ov), 4-12 (Annabel Sutherland-4.4 ov), 5-22 (Georgia Wareham-6.5 ov), 6-23 (Sneh Rana-7.1 ov), 7-23 (Tanuja Kanwar-7.4 ov), 8-49 (Mansi Joshi-12.4 ov), 9-64 (Monica Patel-15.1 ov)

SCORECARD

Playing XI
Gujarat Giants Women: Beth Mooney (wicket-keeper/captain), Sabbhineni Meghana, Harleen Deol, Dayalan Hemalatha, Ashleigh Gardner, Annabel Sutherland, Sneh Rana, Georgia Wareham, Mansi Joshi, Tanuja Kanwar, Monica Patel

Mumbai Indians Women: Yastika Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Amanjot Kaur, Natalie Sciver, Amelia Kerr, Hayley Matthews, Humaira Kazi, Pooja Vastrakar, Issy Wong, Saika Ishaque, Jintimani Kalita

Match Details
Toss: Gujarat Giants, elected to field
Venue: DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai
Start time: 1430 hrs GMT
Match officials: Nitin Pandit, Vrinda Rathi (On-field Umpires); Pashchim Pathak (TV Umpire); Ranjeev Sharma (Reserve Umpire); GS Lakshmi (Match-referee)