Playing at home, the Mumbai Indians dominated in all aspects of the game, winning by 47 runs against the Gujarat Giants in the Eliminator at Brabourne Stadium on Thursday and securing Saturday’s WPL 2025 title matchup against the Delhi Capitals.
On a new surface, Hayley Matthews and Nat Sciver-Brunt scored 77 each, while captain Harmanpreet Kaur hit an incredible 36. MI finished with a total of 213/4. Hayley defended the big target with her off-spin bowling, picking 3-31 as GG were knocked out for 166 in 19.2 overs. She also had strong support from Amelia Kerr, who took two wickets, as well as Nat and Shabnim Ismail, as they secured MI’s spot in the summit showdown against DC at the same venue on Saturday, in a replay of the 2023 WPL final.
Shabnim struck early for Mumbai, when Hayley pouched Beth Mooney’s outside edge and moved to her right at first slip. Harleen Deol and Danielle Gibson smashed five boundaries between them before the former was run out by an accurate throw from Sanskriti Gupta and Yastika Bhatia, which dislodged the stumps in time.
Hayley made a significant dent in GG’s already behind-the-scenes pursuit by defeating Asheigh Gardner for eight. Despite Danielle and Phoebe Litchfield’s efforts to cope with boundaries, the required run rate for GG remained unmanageable.
Amanjot Kaur’s strong throw at deep midwicket led in Danielle being run out for 34, while Phoebe was stumped for 31 after missing a googly off Amelia. Following Kashvee Gautam’s run-out due to a mix-up, Bharti Fulmali and Simran Shaikh attempted to prolong the inevitable with a flurry of boundaries before Hayley brought down the former’s off-stump.
From there, Amelia, Nat, and Hayley each grabbed a wicket to ensure MI advanced to their second WPL final and maintained their perfect record against GG in front of their home crowd of team owners and IPL franchise equivalents.
Previously, Hayley and Nat struck a partnership of 133 off 71 balls for the second wicket, putting on a batting masterclass in front of their home crowd. Hayley blasted ten fours and three sixes in her 50-ball performance, while Nat hit ten fours and two sixes in 41 balls. Harmanpreet then took over, hitting a 12-ball 36 with two fours and four sixes at a strike rate of 300, propelling MI to a massive score in a knockout game. For GG, it was a forgettable phase because none of their bowlers were spared from MI’s big-hitting batsman, and their fielding and catching were plain poor.
Hayley got things began in style by cutting Ashleigh Gardner for four, but was quickly dropped on five when Beth Mooney couldn’t hold on to the edge of her drive. Yastika Bhatia struck three boundaries in her 14-ball 15 before miscuing to mid-wicket off rookie Danielle Gibson.
Following then, it was all one-way traffic as Hayley and Nat drove GG’s hapless bowlers to the boundary ropes. Hayley usually struck boundaries off the backfoot, including three off Priya Mishra’s first over, but Nat drove crisply and took runs primarily via the leg side.
It also assisted the duo that GG made numerous misfields, particularly outside the 30-yard line, and did not take catches properly. Hayley completed her fifty in 36 balls by pulling Tanuja Kanwer for six, while Nat, after carting Meghna Singh for two boundaries, hit her fifty in 29 balls by pulling Danielle for six.
After Nat removed Danielle for another six, Hayley was dropped on 57 when Ashleigh failed to hold on to a chance at long-on. To add salt to the wound, Hayley hit Priya for two sixes and a four before falling behind Kashvee for 77 off 50 balls.
Following that, Priya dropped Harmanpreet’s catch at midwicket, and the MI captain never looked back, hitting Tanuja for two fours and as many sixes in the 18th over. Though Nat miscued to deep mid-wicket from Danielle and fell for 77 off 41 balls, Harmanpreet smashed two more monster sixes before being run out on the final ball as MI passed the 210-run barrier, more than enough to qualify for Saturday’s title match.
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