WPL 2023, MI-W vs GG-W: Mumbai’s Harmanpreet Kaur, bowlers annihilate Gujarat Giants in opener

One couldn’t have asked for a better start to the much-hyped 2023 Women’s Premier League (WPL). Harmanpreet Kaur’s blistering 65 off 30 balls and an all-around show from the bowling unit helped Mumbai Indians (MI) begin their WPL 2023 campaign with a massive 143-run over Gujarat Giants on Saturday. Following a crazy opening ceremony at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai that saw several Bollywood stars turn up for a special occasion, MI didn’t take long before further lighting up the arena with some explosive shots.

After a jittery start, Mumbai’s pair of Hayley Matthews and Nat Sciver-Brunt had Gujarat on the mat early on. Matthews’ 47 and England’s Sciver’s 23 had Mumbai in the driver’s seat before Harmanpreet Kaur took the charge and hit the fifth gear from ball one. The Indian women’s team captain not only slammed a 22-ball fifty, but she also hit seven successive fours across two overs in the later half of the innings to put Mumbai in a commanding position.

Accompanying her at the other end was New Zealand’s Amelia Kerr who also scored an unbeaten 45. An outstanding partnership in the middle overs and a cracking finish at the end saw Mumbai pile up a mammoth 207 for five in 20 overs.

Gujarat in their chase were jolted with a huge blow early on as their captain and batter in-form Beth Mooney got injured and was taken off. This is where it all fell apart for Gujarat, which in no time got reduced to 23 for seven inside eight overs.

While left-arm orthodox Saika Ishaque ended up with figures of four for 11, the overseas duo of Nat Sciver-Brunt and Amelia Kerr picked two wickets each. On the flip side of this collapse, India’s Dayalan Hemalatha stood strong at one end hitting an odd boundary.

However, it all ended in Mumbai’s favour as they won the first match of the WPL 2023 by 143 runs.