WPL 2024: Amelia Kerr's all-round heroics power Harmanpreet Kaur's Mumbai Indians to 2nd straight win, beat Gujarat Giants by 5 wickets

Mumbai Indians (MI) maintained their victorious stride in the Women's Premier League (WPL) title chase with their second victory of the 2024 season against Gujarat Giants on Sunday, February 25. Pursuing a manageable target of 128, MI achieved the goal comfortably in 18.1 overs, losing only five wickets. 

Amelia-Harman rock

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur was the leading scorer with an unbeaten 46, while Amelia Kerr contributed 31 runs alongside her bowling figures of 4/17 in four overs. Nat Sciver-Brunt also added a valuable 22 runs.

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Mumbai faced an early setback in their run chase as openers Yastika Bhatia (7) and Hayley Matthews (7) departed early with the score at 21. Kaur then forged a 28-run partnership with Sciver-Burnt for the third wicket, followed by a 66-run stand with Kerr.

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Giants' late blitz 

Gujarat managed to take quick wickets after Kerr's dismissal, but their efforts proved too late as Mumbai was only nine runs short of victory by the time Pooja Vastrakar was dismissed as the fifth wicket.

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Winning the toss at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, Mumbai opted to field first. Shabnim Ismail validated this decision by claiming two wickets in her initial overs, reducing Gujarat to 11/2. Sciver-Burnt dismissed Phoebe Litchfield in the sixth over, leaving Giants at 43/3 after the powerplay.

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Dayalan Hemalatha and Gujarat captain Beth Mooney (24) were soon dismissed, followed by Kerr's double strike in the 14th over, reducing Gujarat to 78/7. Kathryn Bryce (25 not out) and Tanuja Kanwar (28) later added 48 runs for the eighth wicket, but Kerr's final over efforts limited Gujarat to 126/9.

With two victories from two matches, Mumbai leads the points table with four points. Gujarat, on the other hand, looks to recover from their initial losses as they prepare to face Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) Women in their upcoming match on February 27.

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