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WPL 2024 has witnessed two of the best innings in the nascent history of the league. The first came from the blade of Jemimah Rodrigues for Delhi Capitals Women (DCW) against a strong Mumbai Indians Women (MIW) bowling line when she scored a brilliant unbeaten 69 on March 5, 2024.
Less than five days later, the MIW skipper,Harmanpreet Kaur played one of the best innings ever in Women's T20 cricket and played the role of a perfect finisher when she hit an unbeaten 95 against the Gujarat Giants on March 9.
On that note, here is an analysis of which of the said two innings was better.
Harmanpreet Kaur- 95* from 48 balls
MIW skipper was ruthless against a hapless Gujarat Gians bowling lineup on March 9, 2024. Kaur went berserk in the last four overs of the innings as MIW chased down 65 in the last four overs.
Kaur smashed 44 runs from the last 14 balls and guided her team to victory from an improbable position. The skipper was unbeaten on 95 from just 48 balls, a knock that included 10 boundaries and five maximums. MIW chased down a target of 191 with a ball to spare.
Jemima Rodrigues- 69* from 33 balls
DCW won their first game on their home ground, i.e. the Arun Jaitley Stadium, on 5th March 2024 courtesy of a match-winning knock from the bat of Jemima Rodrigues.
Rodrigues was harsh on the MIW bowling attack and was aggressive from the word go. She smashed her half-century from just 27 balls and punished an experienced MIW bowling attack to all parts of the ground.
She provided the perfect finishing touches to the innings, ended up unbeaten on 69 from just 33 balls, and had an astounding strike rate of 209.09. Her innings included eight boundaries and three maximums and guided her team to a match-winning total of 192.
MIW fell short of the target by 29 runs and it was for the first time in the WPL history that MI failed to chase a target.
The better innings
Though both the knocks were brilliant, Harmanpreet Kaur's innings slightly edges Rodrigues's. The fact that MIW were chasing a daunting target and had to score over 16 runs an over in the last four overs of the innings makes the knock a special one.
Kaur timed her innings perfectly and proved to be a perfect finisher for her team. She did not allow the pressure of a rising run rate to affect her innings. She thrived under pressure and showcased her chasing skills and proved that she is still one of the best finishers in Women's T20 cricket.
