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Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Harmanpreet Kaur gave the inaugural edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL) just the start that it deserved, smashing 65 runs off just 30 balls against the Gujarat Giants (GG) in Match 1.
Harmanpreet seemed in the zone, sending whatever GG bowlers bowled to the boundary. She hit a staggering 14 fours, bringing up her half-century in just 22 balls.
Fans on Twitter hailed Harmanpreet Kaur for her incredible knock and were thrilled to witness such a start to WPL 2023. Here are some of the reactions:
Harmanpreet Kaur and Amelia Kerr gave the innings the acceleration it needed
MI were a bit slow to start off in the powerplay, but then Hayley Matthews found her groove and began to score runs almost at will. She was dismissed just short of a well-deserved half-century and Nat Sciver-Brunt also couldn't make a big contribution.
However, it was the Harmanpreet show as she timed the ball to perfection. It was almost as if there were no fielders on the ground as whatever the MI skipper tried came off.
Amelia Kerr, who generally plays in the top order, was simply brilliant at No.5 as she proved to be the ideal foil to her captain, scoring 45* off just 24 balls. Pooja Vastrakar and Issy Wong provided the finishing touches as MI posted a mammoth 207/5 in their 20 overs.
It will take something special from the Giants to overhaul this incredibly steep target.
Gujarat Giants XI: Beth Mooney (c & wk), Sabbhineni Meghana, Harleen Deol, Ashleigh Gardner, Annabel Sutherland, Dayalan Hemalatha, Georgia Wareham, Sneh Rana, Tanuja Kanwar, Mansi Joshi, Monica Patel.
Mumbai Indians XI: Yastika Bhatia (wk), Hayley Matthews, Amelia Kerr, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Natalie Sciver-Brunt, Pooja Vastrakar, Issy Wong, Humaira Kazi, Amanjot Kaur, Jintimani Kalita, Saika Ishaque.
