Mumbai Indians Secure First Win of WPL 2025
Nat Sciver Brunt delivered a stellar performance as the Mumbai Indians (MI) claimed their first victory in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025. On Tuesday, the defending champions rebounded from their earlier loss to the Delhi Capitals (DC), defeating the Gujarat Giants (GG) by five wickets at the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara.
Match Highlights: GG vs MI
In the match, MI chose to field after the Giants won the toss. The strategy paid off, with MI bowling out the Giants for just 120 runs. Hayley Matthews was the standout bowler, claiming three wickets for just 16 runs in four overs. The MI bowlers made a strong impression, reducing the Giants to 28 for 4 early in the match. Sciver Brunt played a key role, dismissing star players Beth Mooney and Ash Gardner, who had performed well in previous games.
Gujarat’s Deandra Dottin, who had made contributions in earlier matches, was stumped by Amelia Kerr and could not make a significant impact this time. Harleen Deol fought hard for the Giants, scoring 32 runs before Kerr took her wicket.
In a notable moment, Kashvee Gautam became the most expensive uncapped player from the last season and contributed to the team with a score of 20 runs. Tanuja Kanwar and Sayali Satghare helped boost the score with 13 runs each, helping the Giants reach 120 runs. Amanjot Kaur and Shabnim Ismail each took one wicket for MI.
Earlier in the match, G Kamalini became the youngest player ever to debut in the WPL at just 16 years and 213 days old. Her teammate from India’s Under-19 squad, Parunika Sisodia, also made her WPL debut as a replacement for Pooja Vastrakar.
Chasing Down the Target
In response to the target of 121, MI made swift progress, finishing with 23 balls to spare. While Yastika Bhatia was dismissed early, Matthews contributed 17 runs before falling to Kashvee. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur also struggled and was dismissed without adding significantly to the scoreboard.
Sciver Brunt, who had an impressive 80 runs against the Capitals, was once again a star player, scoring 57 runs with 11 boundaries. Meanwhile, Amelia Kerr made a quick contribution of 19 runs, including a four and a six. Sajeevan Sajana rounded off the innings with two boundaries in her score of 10, ensuring MI reached their target successfully.
With this win, Mumbai Indians moved to second place in the league standings with two points and a net run rate of 0.783. The Gujarat Giants, now in third position, will need to improve their performances in upcoming matches to stay competitive in the tournament.
