Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Giants thrilled the crowd to a spectacular opening match on Saturday, March 4 at the DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai, kicking off the inaugural Women's Premier League in grand style. The Women's Premier League's opening toss was won by Giants captain Beth Mooney, who chose Mumbai Indians to bat first on a fast track.
Gujarat's bowling attack received no break from Mumbai's batting as they amassed a massive score of 207/5 in the allocated 20 overs. Harmanpreet Kaur, the captain, provided the driving force with her magnificent knock of 65 off 30 balls. Amelia Kerr (45*off 24) and Hayley Matthews (47 off 31) both made significant contributions as Mumbai got the WPL off to a thrilling start.
Meg Lanning, the captain of Gujarat, retired hurt after twisting her ankle while running, dealing a severe setback to the team. After her injury, the entire team crumbled under the weight of the enormous scoreboard and collapsed like a house of cards as batters continued to approach the crease and leave the pavilion.
Gujarat was bowled out for 64 runs, resulting in a 143-run victory for Mumbai Indians.
Brief scores: Mumbai Indians Women 207/5 in 20 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 65, Hayley Matthews 47, Amelia Kerr 45*; Sneh Rana 2-43) beat Gujarat Giants 64 in 15.1 overs (Dayalan Hemalatha 29*; Saika Ishaque 4-11, Nat Sciver-Brunt 2-5) by 143 runs.