Advertisment
Cricket

'Captain ho toh aisi' - Fans react as Harmanpreet Kaur stars in Mumbai's fifth consecutive win in the Women's T20 League

Mumbai secured their fifth consecutive win in the inaugural season of the Women's T20 League. Here's how fans reacted.

author-image
Jennifer
New Update
Mumbai beat Gujarat by 55 runs

Mumbai beat Gujarat by 55 runs (Source: Twitter)

The action returned on Tuesday in the inaugural edition of the Women’s T20 League, with the unbeaten Mumbai facing struggling Gujarat in the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. While Mumbai looked to continue their unbeaten run, they were surprised as Gujarat dropped a decent bowling performance restricting the hard hitter to 162/8 in their 20 overs. Notably, it was Gujarat who won the toss and invited the league leaders to bat first.

Advertisment

Opener Hayley Matthews went for a duck as Yastika Bhatia, and Nat-Sciver Brunt led a rescue mission for Mumbai. While Bhatia scored 44 off 37, Brunt got 36 off 31 before being dismissed. Finally, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur added 51 off 30 as Mumbai reached a respectable 162/8. For Gujarat, Ashleigh Gardener remained the pick of the bowlers returning with a three-wicket haul in her four overs, conceding 34 runs. Kim Garth, Sneh Rana and Tanuja Kanwar returned with one wicket apiece.

Mumbai became the first team to qualify for the playoffs

In reply, Gujarat started off disastrously as both openers were dismissed cheaply. While Sophia Dunkley went for a golden duck, S Meghana’s struggle on the pitch ended after scoring 16 off 17 deliveries. Gujarat were three down at the score of 34 as Annabel Sutherland also went for a 4-ball duck. Harleen Deol with 22 off 23, skipper Sneh Rana with 20 off 19 and Sushma Verma with 18 off 19 aside; no Gujarat batter could even get a start as they could only manage 107/9 in their 20 overs. Hayley Matthews and Nat-Sciver Brunt returned with three wickets each as Mumbai won by 55 runs becoming the first team to qualify for the playoffs.

Advertisment

Next, in the Women’s T20 League, the UP franchise will face off against the star-studded Bangalore franchise, who are yet winless in the league’s inaugural season. For Smriti Mandhana’s side, it is do or die; if they fail to win the game on Wednesday, it will be curtains on their season with no mathematical chances left for them to qualify for the playoff of the Women’s T20 League 2023.

Here’s how fans reacted to Mumbai’s fifth consecutive win:

Gujarat Titans Mumbai Indians featured Women World Cup Harmanpreet Kaur Women's T20 League 2023 Women's T20 League