WPL 2023: Mumbai Indians’ Harmanpreet Kaur goes berserk, hits 14 fours in her 65 off 30-ball knock

Mumbai Indians’ captain Harmanpreet Kaur lit up the inaugural match of the Women’s Premier League with a stupendous 65 off 30 balls in the first innings. Making the outing all about her, Harman smashed 14 fours during her blistering knock that saw MI score a mammoth 207 for five in 20 overs. Resuming from where she had left in the Women’s T20 World Cup, Harman began with the onslaught from ball one and kept punishing every bowler with each passing delivery.

She not only up the ante but also sent shivers down the spine of the Gujarat team by taking the attack to the opposition. Playing a captain’s knock, the right-handed batter completed her fifty in just 22 balls, striking at more than 200. In the 15th over, Harman hit Monica Patel for four successive fours before hitting Ashleigh Gardner for three back-to-back fours in the following over.

It clearly looked like the Gujarat bowlers didn’t have answers to Harman’s outstanding shots. However, as all good things must come to an end, Harman’s dream innings in WPL’s first-ever match ended on 65 off 30 balls. It was her compatriot Sneh Rana only who picked up the big fish for Gujarat, but by then the damage had already been done.

Meanwhile, after winning the toss Gujarat Giants decided to bowl first and picked up the early wicket of Yastika Bhatia in the third over. Windies’ Hayley Matthews and Nat Sciver-Brunt then revived MI’s innings with some beautiful-looking stroke play inside the Powerplay. While Matthews hammered three sixes in addition to scoring five fours in her innings of 47 off 31 balls, England’s Nat Sciver contributed with 23 that included five fours. Joining Harman at the other end, New Zealand’s Amelia Kerr also made her presence felt as she smashed an unbeaten 45 off 24 balls, hitting six fours and a six.

Courtesy of an incredible batting show from the batters, Mumbai scored 207 for five in 20 overs.