All-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt starred in each departments as Mumbai Indians produced a clinical performance to return to winning ways with a five-wicket victory over a self-destructive Gujarat Giants of their Women’s Premier League match on Tuesday. Sciver-Brunt smashed a 39-ball 57, her second consecutive half-century, after taking two wickets for 26, as MI first bowled out GG for a modest 120 after which chased down the goal, scoring 122 for five with 3.5 overs to spare. Invited to bat, Gujarat paid the worth for his or her over-aggression, with MI’s bowlers, led by off-spinner Hayley Matthews, delivering a decent performance. Shabnim Ismail (1/17), Amelia Kerr (2/22), and Amanjot Kaur (1/17) also played key roles in restricting Gujarat’s batting. In response, Sciver-Brunt dazzled with a flurry of boundaries, playing cut, pull, sweep, and scoop shots with ease. She hit 11 fours during her innings and was dismissed within the sixteenth over with just seven runs required to win.
Chasing 121, MI lost Matthews (17), Yastika Bhatia (8) and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (4) early as MI slipped to 55-3 within the eighth over.
Nonetheless, Sciver-Brunt continued to dominate, bringing up her fifty with a 4 off Ashleigh Gardner within the 14th over. Amelia Kerr (19) also contributed with a six and a 4 before being dismissed by Gautam.
Earlier, Gujarat’s batting imploded as they tried to muscle the ball quite than construct partnerships.
Only two batters in the highest six reached double digits, with Harleen Deol top-scoring with a 31-ball 32. Kashvee Gautam (20) and Tanuja Kanwar (13) also got starts but did not capitalize.
Gujarat were in early trouble, crashing to 16 for 3 within the 4th over, with Beth Mooney (1), Laura Wolvaardt (4), and Dayalan Hemalatha (9) back within the pavilion. Hemalatha has been in poor form for a while.
Gujarat’s in-form skipper, Ashleigh Gardner (10), tried to inject some momentum, pulling Sciver-Brunt for a six, but was dismissed on the very next delivery. Deandra Dottin went for a slog and was stumped by Yastika Bhatia off Kerr, leaving Gujarat at 43 for five in 8.2 overs.
Deol and Gautam added 24 runs off 19 balls, with the latter hitting a giant six off Ismail. Nonetheless, Matthews induced a faint edge to dismiss Gautam.
Deol hit two boundaries off Kerr within the thirteenth over but was dismissed by Amanjot Kaur within the seventeenth over.
Sayali Satghare (13) hit a few boundaries late within the innings to supply some respectability to the entire.
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