WPL 2024: Mumbai Indians’ Ride on Amelia Kerr’s All-Round Show To Beat Gujarat

#WPL2024 | Amelia Kerr first picked up four wickets, before contributing 31 runs with the bat.

WPL 2024: Mumbai Indians defeated Gujarat

(Photo: PTI)

Superb all-round performance by Amelia Kerr (4-17 & 31) and superb bowling by medium-pacer Shabnim Ismail (3-18) helped Mumbai Indians Women beat Gujarat Giants Women by five wickets with 11 balls to spare in the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2024 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday.

Electing to field first, Mumbai Indians found success in the first over itself as Shabnim Ismail trapped the experienced Veda Krishnamurthy for a duck off the fourth delivery of the opening over. From 3/1, Gujarat Giants kept losing wickets at regular intervals and could manage only 126/9 in their allotted 20 overs.

Tanuja Kanwar (28), Kathryn Bryce (25 not out) and skipper Beth Mooney (24) were the main scorers for Gujarat. Kerr removed Ashleigh Gardner for 19 with a carrot outside the off-stump, castled Sneh Rana for zero with a well-disguised wrong 'un and also sent back Kanwar and Lea Tahuhu for a four-wicket haul.

Chasing 127 to win their second match in the event, defending champions Mumbai Indians, who started the WPL 2024 with a thrilling victory against Delhi Capital on the opening night, rode on an unbeaten 46 by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and a 31 off 25 balls by Kerr to reach 129/5 in 18.1 overs.

It was a comfortable victory over Mumbai Indians though they had some anxious moments at the start losing openers Yastika Bhatia and Hayley Matthews for seven apiece to slip to 21/2. It was 49/3 in the eighth over when Nat Sciver-Brunt (22) was run out, going for a very tight single. Harmanpreet and Amelia Kerr raised 66 runs for the fourth wicket partnership to put them on course to victory.

Brief Scores:

Gujarat Giants 126/9 in 20 overs (Tanuja Kanwar 28; Amelia Kerr 4-17, Shabnim Ismail 3-18) lost