WPL 2023 Gujarat Giants vs Mumbai Indians Highlights: Ishaque’s four-wicket haul, Harman’s fifty gives MI massive win

Safari Powerful striker of the match: Hayley Matthews (MI) - 4 sixes

Player of the Match: Harmanpreet Kaur (MI)

Big boost to the MI NRR, but a disheartening start for Gujarat who have to shake it off and turn up at the Brabourne Stadium for their second game in less than 24 hours.

Vastrakar could have wrapped the game up in the previous over but it was written in the stars for Saika Ishaque to come in and get a wicket in each one of the four overs she bowled in. What a brilliant spell from off spinner! She removes Monica Patel as she misses and sees the ball disturb her off stump to finish the match. With Mooney not fit to continue, this will be it for the Giants.

Hayley Matthews into the attack for the first time tonight. Another four for Monica Patel who goes on the backfoot to allow time for this shot as she pulls for FOUR through deep midwicket. We thought it was only Gujarat having a butter fingers kind of day in the field. Pooja drops an absolute sitter from Monica. A regulation catch and Pooja wouldn’t want to revisit this.

Jintamani Kalita gets her second over. Monica Patel gets a boundary. Kalita was coming in around the wicket and Patel got a proper bat on it and sent it bouncing for FOUR. Harman is happy to allow players time to experiment. But should that be the way? Should MI attack for wickets a bit more and close the game out?

Saika Ishaque comes in and has a quiet over, keeping a down and out Giants pair in check. Off the last ball, Ishaque appeals for LBW on Mansi Joshi. Brinda Rathi doesn’t give it. It goes to the third umpire. There was a hit but what they want to check is if its bat or pad. Replays show pad and Mansi has to walk.

Ishaque now has a wicket in every over she has bowled tonight.

WICKET Mansi Joshi lbw b Ishaque 6 (19b)

Jintamani Kalita gets her first over in the Women’s Premier League. She is a bowler this unit is extremely proud of. Five runs come off the over. Mansi and Hemalatha trying to stitch together has come too late for the Giants. Lots to mull over for the Giants think tank.

Vastrakar returns. Fairly straightforward over but Hemalatha has another maximum to her name. Gets down on one knee and thumps it over the bowler’s head. Nice little shot this and she gets appreciation from Mansi Joshi. SIX.

Eight runs come off the over.

Kerr comes in for another over. Hemalatha opens up and gets the first SIX of the Gujarat innings. She dances down the track and sends this over long on. That will help this pair breathe a bit easy out there in the middle. She finishes the over with a FOUR, a sharp cut this one. 12 runs off the over. Gujarat needed and still does need so much more of this.

Pooja Vastrakar comes into the attack now and almost has nothing to do. The Gujarat batters are psyching themselves to make mistakes. It’s time for the timeout. Can Gujarat manage a respectable score in response? What must Mithali Raj be telling her girls? We wonder.

Amelia Kerr into the attack and she strikes instantly LBW appeal for Sneh Rana. The umpire’s finger goes up. Rana reviews immediately. It is imperative that she stays alive in the tournament to give Gujarat the ability to fight. Replays show it hit Rana on the knee roll. However, it’s umpires call on the wickets. Given how this could have gone either way, gutting for Sneh who has to make the long walk back.

Kerr is not done though. She had a great outing with the bat earlier this evening and she now has a second wicket to her name. Tanuja Kanwar, the new batter in, attempts to drive off a tossed up ball from Kerr but she ends up gifting her wicket to Nat Sciver-Brunt at cover.

WICKET MAIDEN FOR AMELIA KERR.

WICKET Sneh Rana lbw b Kerr 1 (2b)

WICKET Tanuja Kanwar c Nat Sciver-Brunt b Kerr 0 (3b)

Ishaque returns. A lovely boundary for Wareham as she beats two fielders in sending it past deep cover. Gorgeous drive. Gujarat needs more of these. FOUR. Ishaque is not be kept out of the contest. She strikes and removes another international cricketer as she manages to knock the bails off through her defence.

WICKET Georgia Wareham b Ishaque 8 (10b)

Wong gets his third over. A quiet over with just 2 runs coming off it.

Saiqa Ishaque comes into the attack. She drops Sutherland off her own bowling early in the over but makes amends almost instantly as she fires one through to Sutherland who is trying to paddle sweep and allows her stumps to be rattled. Going from bad to worse for the Gujarat Giants. Wareham comes in at number 6 and sends Ishaque’s short ball to the point boundary. This is Gujarat’s first boundary of the match.

WICKET Annabel Sutherland b Ishaque 6 (14b)

Issy Wong returns. Sutherland has taken a no risk approach to dealing with her especially given she’s varying her pace. Her fuller delivery to Sutherland triggers an appeal from her but she’s the only one screaming. Harman and the umpires have a good laugh and they move on. Meanwhile, the girls in orange have no reason to feel the slightest amount of joy, with a massive pile of runs yet to be made.

Nat Sciver-Brunt returns to the attack. She’s keeping the lengths simple to Sutherland who sees her off cautiously with a single but Meghana has no such luck. She buckles under the pressure and is CASTLED! NSB’s off cutter coming in handy as Meghana has no idea how that turned! The pace also seemed off on that delivery. Hemalatha joins Sutherland now. Can they give this Gujarat innings some shape?

WICKET S Meghana b Nat Sciver-Brunt 2 (4b

Wong comes into the attack now and starts with a wide. In a matter of deliveries, Wong has struck as she removes Garnder for a duck! It’s all going Mumbai’s here but it’s also all terribly one-sided at the moment. Not a great sight for a GG fan.

WICKET Ashleigh Gardner c Matthews b Wong 0 (1b)

Look at the Gujarat top order today:

Meghana 2*
Mooney 0 (hurt)
Deol 0
Garnder 0

Nat Sciver-Brunt opens the bowling for Mumbai Indians. Interesting choice this. Cautious start from Gujarat duo but there’s a alarm for the side. Beth Mooney, while trying to run, has either hurt the back of her knee or cramped really badly. She is limping as she calls the physio for help. After an inspection, Mooney is ushered off the field, she is limping all through it. This is not good for the Giants at all. Harleen Deol comes in to take her place and is also sent back immediately as she gets a massive top edge to Issy Wong at deep third. Successful over for Mumbai in more ways than one.

WICKET Harleen Deol c Wong b Nat Sciver-Brunt 0 (2b)

1. Why so many bowlers?
2. Fielding was far too sloppy. A big chunk of runs could have been saved
3. Line and length all over the place, could be down to inexperience or nerves too to be fair.
4. Presence of mind for players on the field needs to improve to be better at run-outs etc.

The pace is coming on good. We reckon we had to get about 160-180, but we’ll be happy with 207. Dew? Not necessarily. There might be some coming about. Hope it doesn’t affect us too much in the second innings.

Rana will bowl the final over. She sends a full delivery to Kerr right up who is happy to sweep but with height for a SIX. Rana sticks to fuller deliveries outside the off stump as she tries to stem the run flow. It works as Pooja Vastrakar holes out to Monica Patel inside the circle at cover. Sliced but got the position and just the feel of it all wrong.

Issy Wong comes in for the last ball of the MI innings and you’d think coming in to face a solitary ball is a lot of pleasure. Not for Issy. Walks in, hits a SIX, walks out. A full toss is sent her way and she whacks it over deep midwicket.

208 to win for the Gujarat Giants. Tall ask. Are they up to it?

Ashleigh Gardner returns for her last over and is given some harsh treatment by Pooja Vastrakar who smashes the Aussie ace all rounder for a massive 13 runs. 15 runs come off the over in total.

Vastrakar is all about power as she goes aerial for all her shots, one down the bowler’s left, and the next two powerfully slotted over mid-off. BIG over. Lot of questions facing Gujarat but just no answers.

It will be crucial for MI to see if batters can keep the momentum going. Can Kerr continue the damage Harman was inflicting? With Vastrakar for company?

Turns out, YES.

Back-to-back boundaries for Kerr - one off a short and wide delivery and the other a length ball which Kerr came down the track to dispatch. Sneh Rana tries to dive at deep backward square but can’t stop the ball and ends up awkwardly landing. She’s in pain. 11 runs come off this over and it is getting painful for Gujarat.

Rana comes in for her third over. There’s no stopping Harman here. Thanks to the skipper going ballistic, Melie Kerr is getting time to do her own thing, which is workingf out quite well for the duo. Harman hits Rana for another boundary, her 14th of the game, a lofted shot over cover. Beautiful. She won’t last for too long though as she holes out right after to Hemalatha at short third. An innings to remember this one!

WICKET Harmanpreet Kaur c Hemalatha b Rana 65 (30b)

A Harmanpreet masterclass is currently underway at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. Can Ash Gardner, who has had a good game so far, be the difference? Apparently not. Harman smacks Gardner for three consecutive fours. Garnder sticks to a fuller length but tries to turn the ball - doesn’t matter. It’s all running away to the fence. The Indian captain brings up her maiden WPL fifty - the first ever fifty in the history of the tournament. 14 runs off this over. Can Harman do a McCullum?

Monica Patel comes into the attack. Kerr drives her up front as Monica gives her space outside the off stump. FOUR. Soon after, Monica gets her length all wrong as she sends it wide and allows Kaur space for another FOUR. She then sends a shorter delivery and Harman pulls it for FOUR comfortably. Charlotte Edwards is beaming in the dugout. Harman backs that up with another FOUR, a square drive this time and finishes with a FOUR, another drive between mid off and cover. A whopping 21 runs conceded and Mooney is visibly annoyed.

Rana returns and continues to be taken to the cleaners today. Amelia Kerr slog sweeps, and beats the fielders there for FOUR. Another misfield. Mansi Joshi the culprit. She mistimes her run and that ball has beaten her for another FOUR runs. 10 runs come off the over and Sneh Rana is not happy.

Sutherland returns. Mooney appeals on the very first delivery as Harman nicks one going down leg to Mooney behind the stumps. Umpires are not interested. It’s off the pad so no wide call either. Harman has had something special for lunch today as nothing is stopping her from dealing in boundaries. Two consecutive FOURS again. The MI skipper’s strike rate has breached the 200 mark. 10 runs come off this over.

Wareham is back for her third over. She’s keeping it full to start. But is fairly predictable with where she’s bowling them and ends up conceding two consecutive FOURS. One swept hard behind deep square leg and the other between deep square leg and deep midwicket. Kerr finishes the over also with a FOUR. SIXTEEN RUNS COME OFF THIS OVER FOR MI.

Sneh Rana comes into the attack now and her national team captain Harmanpreet Kaur welcomes her with two consecutive boundaries - the first, a fat edge past slip and the second driven between cover and point. EIGHT RUNS. The job is hardly done as with Kaur is Amelia Kerr. Insane depth. Rana recovers to keep the rest of the over tight.

Harman and Hayley have to rebuild now as Ashleigh Gardner returns to bowl after the timeout. She has slowed things down and it is frustrating Hayley Matthews who is inching close to her fifty. Length ball outside off which has some insane turn here and Matthews can’t read it at all as it clips the bails.

WICKET Hayley Matthews b Gardner 47 (31b

Wareham returns. Hayley Matthews remains the same, no matter who is in front of her. She sends Wareham for a massive SIX taking the partnership beyond 50 runs. The celebration is short lived as Nat Sciver-Brunt, looking to drive, got some elevation which Sneh Rana at mid-off is happy to catch. A sprightly innings ends.

A timeout is taken.

WICKET Nat Sciver-Brunt c Rana b Wareham 23 (18b

Annabel Sutherland comes into the attack now. The only priority now is to break this partnership. Hayley Matthews will have none of it as she deals in SIXES! She first sends a fuller ball down long leg for a maximum and follows it up with a powerful shot straight over cow corner. Expensive over for Sutherland.

Georgia Wareham gets his first over of the day. Early chance of a wicket as Matthews sends a tossed up delivery to long off but it lands short of Mansi Joshi who could have tried to get a hand on it. Saved. Nat Sciver-Brunt is missing a few of her shots but she makes up by aggressively stepping forward to sweep Wareham to the fine leg boundary for FOUR.

Kanwar returns to close out the powerplay. Her over begins and ends with boundaries, with Hayley Matthews driving to extra cover for the first and Nat Sciver-Brunt sweeping to fine leg for the 2nd. Back to back good overs for Mumbai with sloppy fielding hurting the Giants.

Monica Patel is into the attack now. She’s not trying anything rash, sticking to the length balls. Ohh, Sciver-Brunt was beaten on the repeat of the 2nd ball courtesy a prior wide. She tried to flick it but missed and sent the ball to Mooney’s gloves. The England allrounder finds a single down leg. Besides those two deliveries in the Mansi’s over, this has been a quiet start for Mumbai. Monica is not helping, as she concedes the second wide of the over. Nat Sciver-Brunt knows Monica is struggling with her line as she scoops a straightish delivery pitched up a little to the fine leg boundary. FOUR. It doesn’t end there as Nat whacks the ball down to the boundary rope where Meghana is stationed. She picks it up poorly but stops the ball however, she doesn’t have a firm hand on it and ball watches as it rolls to the rope. Could be a fast outfield too but this is shoddy from the Giants. FOUR.

Joshi returns. After a little caution early on, Nat Sciver-Brunt plays on the backfoot, picks the length perfectly and pulls it square. FOUR. Five runs from the over, better from Mansi

Mooney replaces Gardner with the left-arm spin of Tanuja Kanwar. AND SHE DELIVERS! The first wicket falls for Mumbai as Yastika Bhatia holes out to Wareham at point. Pressure of not getting going got to the left hander! Nat Sciver-Brunt comes in to join Hayley Matthews and the duo will negotiate safely. What a brilliant first over from Tanuja Kanwar.

WICKET Yastika Bhatia c Wareham b Kanwar 1 (8b)

Mansi Joshi will pair with Garnder at the other end. What an opportunity this! She pitches it short, it looks like, and the rising ball is whacked over the square boundary for SIX! The first maximum of the WPL. Matthews follows that up with FOUR In the deep. A misfield helps the ball escape to the ropes. Nerves! Mansi needs to guard against overcorrecting her line and length. With Bhatia on strike, Mansi tries to tighten things but ends up drifting towards leg, WIDE called. Good comeback this after an expensive start to the over. 12 runs off Mansi’s first.

Ash Gardner starts with the new ball. She is the most expensive foreign player in the Women’s Premier League. She’s keeping things simple early on. Yastika is able to middle the ball well but is getting nowhere with the shots. Four dots to begin the MI innings. First runs for Bhatia as she clips Gardner to deep square, there’s a fielder there. Matthews gets off the mark too, nudging the ball to mid on for a single. Quiet but quick start.

The Gujarat Giants skipper will monitor proceedings from the best seat in the house. Meanwhile we see Hayley Matthews and Yastika Bhatia - a potent left-right combo- make its way to take guard for MI.

Gujarat Giants: Beth Mooney, S Meghana, Harleen Deol, Ashleigh Gardner, Annabel Sutherland, Dayalan Hemalatha, Georgia Wareham, Sneh Rana, Tanuja Kanwer, Monica Patel, Mansi Joshi

Mumbai Indians: Harmanpreet Kaur, Yastika Bhatia, Natalie Sciver-Brunt, Hayley Matthews, Pooja Vastrakar, Isabelle Wong, Humairaa Kaazi, Amelia Kerr, Amanjot Kaur, Jintimani Kalita, Saika Ishaque

Beth Mooney has won the toss and has opted to bowl on a surface that looks full of potential for the bowlers. There’s a fair amount of green cover on red soil and promises to have something for the pacers. When the dew comes into play, it will be interesting to see how teams adapt, batters especially.

Something strange has transpired over the last day or so. Deandra Dottin, sources say, has been ruled out of WPL 2023, reportedly due to injury. Gujarat Giants has roped in Australian Kim Garth in place of the Windies allrounder. But the World Boss has made it clear on her social media that she is fit. No official news from the Giants camp yet. Drama before a ball has been bowled!

For most international cricketers, the last few days have been incredibly busy - travelling from one corner of the world to another - but as they gear up to be part of history, none of them is complaining. A premier league for women cricketers was in the pipe line for years, and finally, the ball is set to roll!

Gujarat Giants, too, has a formidable unit with Beth Mooney as the leader. The team has a heavy Australian presence with Mooney as the captain, Rachel Haynes as the head coach and Ashleigh Gardner and Annabel Sutherland around. There is enough depth in the batting with Mooney at the top and Deandra Dottin or Sophia Dunkley, or Sushma Verma around. The presence of S. Meghana also adds value to the team, that looks well-balanced and confident.

Having managed to rope in the India captain for a rather cheap Rs 1.8 crore in the auction, Mumbai brought on board some other international stars - including Nat Sciver-Brunt, Amelia Kerr, and Hayley Matthews. And, in a long tournament, their experience will come in handy for the Mumbai outfit.

Most importantly, the franchise has made sure that it has the right balance in the death bowling with Sciver-Brunt , Pooja Vastrakar and Heather Graham around. That not only bolsters its bowling department, but also gives the cushion to the uncapped Indian players like Sonam Yadav and Neelam Bisht.

The team has had a long training session with the uncapped players recently and now that they know the conditions well, expectations are high.

The India captain, who will be leading the Mumbai Indians in the tournament, looked happy, calm and composed and had no hesitation in admitting that when her team takes on Gujarat Giants in the inaugural fixture at the DY Patil Stadium on Saturday, it will be the ‘biggest day’ for women’s cricket.

The opening ceremony and match of the Women’s Premier League will be telecast on Sports 18. You can also stream the ceremony live and for free on the Jio Cinema app.