Matthews, Brunt lead Mumbai to a comfortable victory over Gujarat in WPL

Vadodara: Mumbi Indians humbled Gujarat Giants at their home ground with a comfortable victory in the Womens Premier League (WPL), helped by the innings of Nat Sciver-Brunt and Hayley Matthews.

Gujarat, called to bat in first by Mumbai captain Harmanpreet Kaur, were on the backfoot from the start of the innings. Mumbai bowlers reduced Gujarat to just 120 runs, with all-rounder Matthews leading the attack, who took three wickets, only giving away 16 runs.

At one stage, Gujarat were down 16 for 3 with Beth Mooney (1), Laura Wolvaardt (4), and Dayalan Hemalatha (9) back in the pavilion.

Gujarat's in-form skipper, Ashleigh Gardner, tried to inject some momentum, pulling Sciver-Brunt for a six, but the bowler got her out on the very next delivery. At the end of the powerplay, Gujarat found themselves at a perilous 28 for 4.

Harleen Deol, who came into bat at 5th, tried to add some momentum to Gujarat innings and build useful partnerships with Kashvee Gautam and Deandra Dottin. But she was dismissed by Amanjot Kaur in the 16th over, after adding valuable 32 runs to Gujarat scoreboard to take them past the century mark. Despite late attempts from the tail end, Gujarat's last wicket fell in the final ball, with only 120 runs on board. Brunt and Amelia Kerr took two wickets each. 

Mumbai also started their innings slow and lost both their openers with 46 runs on board. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur was dismissed for just 4 runs by Kashvee Gautam and Mumbai were struggling at 55-3. 

The partnership of 45 runs between Brunt and Amelia Kerr steered Mumbai to a comfortable position. Brunt scored 57 runs while Amelia supported her with a valuable knock of 19. 

Malayali player Sajana Sajeevan and debutant G Kamalini stayed on to ensure a comfortable victory for Mumbai. Gautam and Priya Mishra claimed two wickets each, but it was not enough to deny Mumbai a much-deserved win over Gujarat. 

Brief Scores: Gujarat Giants 120 all out in 20 overs (Harleen Deol 32, Kashvee Gautam 20; Hayley Matthews 3/16, Amelia Kerr 2/22, Nat Sciver-Brunt 2/26) lose to Mumbai Indians 122/5 in 16.1 overs (Nat Sciver-Brunt 57, Amelia Kerr 19, Hayley Mathews 17, Sajana Sajeevan 10 not out; Priy Mishra 2/40, Kashvee Gautam 2/15)