Mumbai Indians women have registered their first-ever victory in the first-ever match of the first-ever Women's Premier League as they thrashed Gujarat Giants by runs. Mumbai skipper Harmanpreet Kaur played brilliantly to score 65 runs off just 30 balls and powered her side to set a target of 208 runs.
Batting first, the Mumbai Indians team scored 207 runs at the loss of 4 wickets. In response, the Gujarat team got bundled out for only 64 runs. Harmanpreet Kaur had an important contribution to Mumbai's victory as she had a strike rate of 216.67 in the match and smashed 14 fours. She was also adjudged player of the match for the game.
Coming out to bat in the first match of WPL 2023, Mumbai Indians got off to a bad start as they lost their first wicket for just 15 runs. After 10 overs, the team had scored 77 runs at the loss of 3 wickets. After this, Harmanpreet Kaur came onto the field and thrashed all the bowlers from Gujarat Giants. Apart from Harmanpreet Kaur, Hayley Matthews scored 47 and Amelia Kerr scored 45 runs for Mumbai.
MI bowlers also did wonders
The Mumbai Indians team dominated the Gujarat Giants right from the start of the match. Barring only two batters in the second innings of the match, none of the Gujarat batters could score more than 10 runs. Four players of the team returned to the pavilion on a duck and in the end, the Gujarat team could score only 64 runs. Apart from the defeat in the match, Gujarat suffered another major setback. Team captain Beth Mooney retired hurt due to an injury.
In this match played between Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Giants, Harmanpreet Kaur created history with her innings. Harmanpreet Kaur made a great record in this match as soon as she scored a half-century. She has become the first player to score a fifty in the history of the Women's Premier League.