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Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Harmanpreet Kaur led her team from the front with a stellar match-winning knock of 95* (48) against Gujarat Giants (GG). It came in the 16th match of WPL 2024 on Saturday, March 9.
GG batted first in the contest after winning the toss and notched up a massive total of 190/7 in 20 overs. Dayalan Hemalatha (74) and Beth Mooney (66) put in vital contributions to their team.
Yastika Bhatia (49) provided a decent platform for MI in the top order with a brisk knock. However, the others struggled to play at the same tempo, which kept increasing the required rate. Harmanpreet Kaur was stuck on 20 (21) at the end of the 14th over, with 91 runs needed from the last six overs.
After that, Harmanpreet unleashed her inner beast and switched into high gear effortlessly to destroy the GG bowling attack. She went on a carnage, amassing 75 runs in her next 25 balls to propel MI to an unlikely win.
En route to 95*, Kaur smashed 10 fours and five sixes and finished the match with a single on the penultimate ball of the match. Fans were impressed with Harmanpreet Kaur's stellar performance, and they heaped praise on her through their posts on X. Here are some of the top ones:
We had to win because we did not want to put pressure on us: MI captain Harmanpreet Kaur
At the post-match presentation, MI skipper Harmanpreet Kaur shed light on the importance of the victory against GG for their campaign, saying:
"It was a very big game. We had to win because we did not want to put pressure on us. Out bowling plan did not work, but we knew that we had a long batting lineup. Last time we missed that (top spot), this time we have our eyes on that."
She added:
"I have to stay there and look for a big innings. They (openers) are experienced and when you are chasing, it's clear how much you need to score. Good thing is that we didn't lose any wickets in the powerplay. So later on, we could keep rotating and look for bowlers to attack. 19th over was something we had to target so that we don't keep much for the final over."
With the win against GG, Defending champions MI have become the first team to qualify for playoffs in WPL 2024.
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