Mumbai, Mar 14 (PTI) Harmanpreet Kaur struck a 30-ball 51 to take Mumbai Indians to 162/8 in their second meeting with Gujarat Giants in the Women’s Premier League here on Tuesday.

Kaur’s innings was instrumental in Mumbai Indians reaching a competitive total at the Brabourne Stadium, with other batters in Yastika Bhatia (44) and Nat Sciver-Brunt (36) playing crucial knocks but none of them going the aggressive route.

The right-handed Kaur cracked seven fours and two sixes during her stay in the middle and added 51 runs in the company of Amelia Kerr (19) to revive Mumbai Indians’ charge.

At the halfway stage, Mumbai Indians were 64/1 and it was Kaur’s rapid knock that helped them add another 98 runs in the last 10 overs.

Harleen Deol took a stunning catch to end Kaur’s blitz off Ashleigh Garnder, who bagged her third wicket on the penultimate ball getting Amanjot Kaur caught at deep midwicket.

For Gujarat Giants, their captain Sneh Rana delivered a tidy spell of 4-0-17-1 while accounting for Isabelle Wong (0).

Gardner struck on the second ball of the contest, getting the key wicket of Hayley Matthews who hit straight to Sophia Dunkley at cover and perished without opening her account. Mumbai Indians made a sedate start but picked up pace towards the end of the powerplay. Sciver-Brunt and Bhatia both launched a flurry of boundaries to take the team’s total to 40/1 in six overs.

Gujarat captain Rana thought she had the wicket of Sciver-Brunt out leg-before in the eighth over, but the batter got the decision overturned successfully through a DRS appeal, which indicated that the ball was missing the leg stump.

Sciver-Brunt and Bhatia did well to consolidate for Mumbai, adding 74 from 62 balls but had to work hard for their runs. The pair did hit an odd boundary or two along the way, but the scoring rate remained at around 6-7 runs an over.

The right-handed Sciver-Brunt launched Kim Garth for a six and a four, but the bowler had the last laugh pinning her on a slower delivery in front of the wickets in the 12th over. After yet another significant contribution, Sciver-Brunt returned to the dugout having scored 36 off 31 balls with five fours and a six.

Gujarat did not have to wait for another breakthrough as miscommunication between Bhatia and Kaur resulted in the former being run-out, falling for yet another score in 40s in this competition.

Bhatia fell after a 37-ball 44 with five fours and a six.

Kaur lost her fourth toss on the trot in WPL as Gujarat Giants captain Sneh Rana elected to field while making two changes. Laura Wolvaardt and Georgia Wareham made way for Dunkley and Annabel Sutherland, whereas Mumbai Indians remained unchanged.

In the previous meeting between these two teams, Mumbai Indians had thrashed Gujarat Giants by 143 runs at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.

Source: PTI News