Mumbai Indians crushed Gujarat Giants by 143 runs in the opening match of WPL.
Mumbai Indians (MI) outplayed Gujarat Giants (GG) by 143 runs in the first-ever match of the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2023 on Saturday (March 4) at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
The much-awaited T20 league got off to a electric start with a glittering opening ceremony featuring performances from actresses Kiara Advani and Kriti Sanon and popular singer AP Dhillon.
Giants' captain Beth Mooney won the toss and elected to bowl first hoping for the dew factor to kick in later. MI were provided with a great start by West Indies captain Hayley Matthews (47) and Nat Sciver-Brunt (23) despite losing Yastika Bhatia early.
MI captain Harmanpreet Kaur walked in at number 4 and looked in great touch as she struck a 22-ball 50, the first half-century of the league. She smashed 7 fours in a row, and eventually was dismissed for 65 in 30 balls with 14 boundaries. Amelia Kerr (45*) provided the finishing touch as the team finished with an imposing total of 207/5. Sneh Rana took two wickets for Giants but conceded 43 runs in her four overs.
In reply, Giants got off to the worst possible start with captain Mooney retiring hurt after picking up an injury before opening her account. Her injury was serious enough to keep her out for the remainder of the innings. Giants never recovered from the blow and were reduced to 23/7, before India international Dayalan Hemalatha (29*) battled a bit to get the side past the 50-mark.
However, it was too little to be of any consequence, as the innings ended at 64 in 15.1 overs with MI winning by 143 runs. Saika Ishaque took 4/11, while Sciver-Brunt and Kerr took two wickets each.
It was the perfect start for Harmanpreet Kaur & co. as nearly everything went to plan for the side, reminding fans of Kolkata Knight Riders' win by a similar margin against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL opener in 2008.
Cricket fraternity applauded the Mumbai Indians captain for her innings that lit up the stadium and provided the much needed impetus to the innings.
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