Mumbai Indians skipper Harmanpreet Kaur set the stage on fire in the opening match of Women’s Premier League with her blistering 65-run knock to set up the foundation of a massive victory over Gujarat Giants at DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday.
It was sort of a dream start one team could ask for as Mumbai Indians outclassed Gujarat Giants in all three departments to register a massive 143-run victory.
Harmanpreet scored a scintillating 65 runs off just 30 balls to add fuel to Mumbai’s innings as they posted 207/5 after Gujarat opted to bowl first. She scored boundaries at regular intervals as her innings was laced with 14 fours.
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Harmanpreet said playing in WPL is a dream come true as the players wanted it badly for the past many years. She said the message from her and the management to players was to express themselves on the field.
“I think it was a brilliant start, it felt like a dream come true. First day and whatever we did it worked well for us. We kept things simple and clear. Told players to play natural. It is a big day for women’s cricket and we talked about expressing ourselves,” Harmanpreet said in the post-match presentation.
She was also named Player of the Match for her sensational knock.
“I watched the ball nicely and backed myself. Whatever came my way, I backed myself and it went my way,” she said.
Harmanpreet said MI assessed the pitch well while batting as they knew there was something for the bowlers if they can hit the right areas and length.
“When we were batting, we knew it is a very good batting wicket. If you can hit the right area and right length, there was assistance for the bowlers too,” she added.
Mumbai Indians’ bowlers led by Saika Ishaque (4/11) produced a superb show to restrict Gujarat Giants to just 64 in 15.1 overs.
“I am happy that every bowler bowled well. Its a big day and big victory for us and the way we started, we are really happy,” Harmanpreet said.
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