Shabnam Ismail showcased a brilliant performance with the ball in Bengaluru, toppling Gujarat Giants’ top order as Mumbai Indians notched up their second win of the WPL 2024. She was assisted by leg-spinner Amelia Kerr, who took four wickets.
The former champions restricted Giants to 126 runs, and captain Harmanpreet Kaur chased the target with an unbeaten 46-run knock. She led the team to victory with five wickets and 11 balls to spare.
Harmanpreet and WPL Run-Chase
Harmanpreet and run-chases have been a love story in the WPL. She began this season with a half-century against Delhi Capitals, just like she did in the opening match of the previous season, also against Giants. Her average of more than 63 in chasing targets speaks volumes about her prowess. That’s why Mumbai might have breathed a sigh of relief when they were 49 for 3 after losing Net Saver-Brandt’s wicket.
An early cover drive inspired her to go after the Capitals, and here, she swept the left-arm spin of Tanuja Kanwar for four through the cover-point. The aim was clear in her sight – she could take her time, which she did even while attacking Cyber-Brandt from the other end. She frequently used her paddle sweep and reverse sweep to keep Mumbai well ahead of the required rate. In Kerr’s company, she took Mumbai deep into the sightseeing spots within the Giants’ company.
Despite a gap of five wickets between Kerr and Pooja Vastrakar’s overs, Mumbai didn’t panic. Harmanpreet ensured they stayed on course, finishing the match with a six over deep midwicket.
It was a dream start for Mumbai after opting to bowl. Ismail wasted no time in drawing first blood once again. Ismail, who retired from international cricket last year, has been a revelation, shining as a T20 freelancer, and she was not different on Sunday. She set up Veda Krishnamurthy, who was making her WPL debut, with a length ball that moved away before returning with a quicker full-length delivery.
Veda was advancing on the front foot and pinned lbw with the second ball. Giants lost both their reviews within the first 16 balls, along with two wickets.
Phoebe Litchfield – also on her WPL debut – brought her reverse sweep to the party against Matthew’s bowling. But her stint was short-lived as she fell to Cyber-Brandt, adding a quarter to her lead. Harmanpreet kept her bowlers rotating, never letting the batters settle. A similar attempt by Deepti Sharma also resulted in a long-on catch by Mathews in the fourth over.
After managing to escape from early wickets, the Giants found themselves in trouble at 78 for 7 in the seventh over, with only six overs remaining. The only associate player in WPL 2024, Catherine Brice, joined Kanwar in the middle at that stage. Both leg-spinners, Kerr and SB Kirthana, proved successful in regularly hitting boundaries.
Brice also succeeded in tossing Matthew’s delivery into the deep midwicket stand in the third over. This partnership helped the Giants score 33 runs in the last four overs despite losing Kerr’s twin wickets in the final over.
After their rescue work with the bat, Brice and Kanwar now began to express themselves with the ball. The Scottish all-rounder succeeded in tossing Matthew’s ball into the deep midwicket stand in the third over. Even though she was brought in as the fourth bowler in the fourth over, Kirthana succeeded in hitting Mathews’ left-arm spin straight into the hands of deep midwicket in her last over, the 17th over, picking up two wickets for 21 runs in her four overs.
When she threw a precise throw to remove Muni on the Cyber-Brandt short at the eighth over, it seemed that Kirthana could inspire Giants to the unthinkable. However, the experienced Harmanpreet ensured that Mumbai’s face-off against Giants ended in their favor with a commanding 3-0 lead at the end of Sunday.