WPL-4, MI vs GG: Harmanpreet-Carey show wins it for Mumbai Indians

When Harmanpreet Kaur walked out to bat, Mumbai Indians was struggling at 37 for two, and the target of 193 seemed far away.

But the skipper led from the front with an unbeaten 43-ball 71 as Mumbai Indians overcame early jitters to pull off a seven-wicket win against Gujarat Giants in a Women’s Premier League fixture on Tuesday.

As a near-packed D.Y. Patil Stadium chanted her name, a calm and composed Harmanpreet forged two key partnerships — 72 off 44 deliveries with Amanjot Kaur for the third wicket followed by an unbroken 84 off 43 balls with Nicola Carey — as the defending champion pulled off its highest chase in the tournament.

While Amanjot hit a flurry of fours before falling to Sophie Devine, Harmanpreet and Carey ensured that there were no further dents. The two guided the team to a second straight win and inflicted an eighth successive loss on Giants in head-to-head encounters.

As the Giants bowlers failed to defend a big total, it was indeed heartbreak for Bharti Fulmali. Her unbeaten 15-ball-36 run cameo had guided Giants to 192 for five.

The MI bowlers operated well in the middle overs before Bharti (36 n.o., 15b, 3×4, 3×6) and Georgia Wareham (43 n.o., 33b, 4×4, 1×6) put on an unbroken 56-run partnership off 24 balls for the sixth wicket to turn things around for Giants. They also became the first team to register 180-plus scores in three consecutive matches in the competition.

The Gujarat outfit retired out a struggling Ayushi Soni — a first in the tournament — in the 16th over.

That turned out to be a masterstroke as Bharti came in and breathed life into the innings.

Late charge

She survived a couple of reviews before dealing in fours and sixes. After scoring 15 of the 16-run over by Carey in the 19th, she smashed Amanjot all over the park in the final over.

Bharti plundered 18 out of the 23 runs conceded by Amanjot as she entertained the crowd with power-hitting. But, her efforts went in vain.