MI beat Giants but miss chance to go top of table

Harmanpreet Kaur’s fluent half-century was backed by an exceptional bowling performance as Mumbai Indians beat Gujarat Giants by nine runs to strengthen their chances of finishing on top in the Women’s Premier League. Sent in to bat, Harmanpreet showcased her class as she slammed nine boundaries to score 54 off 33 balls and anchor MI to a competitive total of 179/6.

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The bowlers then took over, with superb performances from Shabnim Ismail (2/17) and Amelia Kerr (3/34) as MI bowled Giants out for 170 in 20 overs, despite a whirlwind 25-ball 61 by Bharti Fulmali.

With this win, Mumbai joined Delhi Capitals at 10 points but stayed at second position due to a lower net run-rate. MI will aim to seal their direct qualification to the final by finishing at the top when they face Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the final league match on Tuesday. Gujarat Giants, who ended their league stage with eight points, will have to play the eliminator on Thursday against the second-placed team in the standings.

MI now boast a 6-0 record against GG in the tournament’s brief history. “We will re-think what went wrong and try to learn from our mistakes for the next game,” Harmanpreet said. “Good we played today and we understood how the pitch and the conditions are. Recovery is something that is going to play a big role,” she added.

Brief scores: Mumbai Indians: 179/6 (Harmanpreet 54, Sciver-Brunt 38; Mishra 1/23, Gardner 1/27); Gujarat Giants: 170/9 (Fulmali 61; Kerr 3/34, Matthews 3/38, Ismail 2/17).