It just wasn’t our night as we went down to Mumbai Indians in the WPL 2025 Eliminator at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday, March 13.
Opting to bowl first, our bowlers found it challenging as Hayley Matthews (77) and Nat Sciver-Brunt (77) powered Mumbai Indians to 213/4 in their 20 overs.
In reply, our batters fought hard, however, it wasn’t enough as we lost the game by 47 runs.
Ahead of the clash, we suffered a massive blow as our star all-rounder Deandra Dottin was ruled out due to an injury. Danielle Gibson was drafted in as a last-minute replacement for Dottin.
Gibson soon provided us with an early breakthrough as she removed Yastika Bhatia (15) in the fifth over of the game.
Following Yastika’s dismissal, Hayley Matthews and Nat Sciver-Brunt stitched a 133-run stand for the second wicket despite best efforts from our bowlers.
Later in the 17th over, our young pacer Kashvee Gautam got us the much-needed breakthrough as she ended Matthews’ knock.
Gibson then claimed her second wicket of the match as she bagged the huge scalp of Nat Sciver-Brunt in the 19th over.
Harmanpreet Kaur (36) departed in the final ball as Mumbai Indians posted 213/3 in their allotted overs.
Chasing 214, Gibson and Beth Mooney opening our innings. However, we lost Mooney early as she fell to Shabnim Ismail in the opening over of the chase.
Batting at No.3, Harleen joined Gibson at the crease as the duo added 28 runs for the second wicket.
We later succumbed to twin blows as Harleen and captain Gardner departed in quick succession.
With the score reading 43/3, Phoebe Litchfield came in to bat. Litchfield and Gibson played some scintillating shots to bring us back into the game.
Just when we looked in some control, Gibson perished after an unfortunate run out in the 10th over. Our debutant’s knock included five fours and one maximum.
At the other end, Litchfield continued her attacking approach before she was dismissed by Amelia Kerr. She slammed four fours and one six in her resolute knock.
Our star batter Bharti Fulmali once again played a valiant knock of 30 runs off just 20 balls, however, it wasn’t enough as our WPL 2025 campaign came to an end with a 47-run loss in Mumbai.
Despite the defeat, we are super proud of our girls. Our Giants delivered a memorable campaign as we registered our best-ever finish in the WPL. We promise we will be back next season, better and stronger.
Brief Scores: Mumbai Indians 213/3 in 20 overs (Nat Sciver-Brunt 77; Danielle Gibson 2/40) beat Gujarat Giants 166 in 19.2 overs (Danielle Gibson 34; Hayley Matthews 3/31) by 47 runs.
