Mumbai Indians reach WPL final with comfortable victory over Gujarat Giants

Mumbai: Mumbai Indians have reached the final of the Womens Premier League after securing a comfortable victory over Gujatrat Giants in the eliminator match on Wednesday. Mumbai will face Delhi Capitals in the final at Brabourne Stadium here on Saturday. 

Gujarat skipper Ashleigh Gardner might be regretting her decision to call Mumbai to bat first. Helped by the half centuries from Hayley Matthews and Nat Sciver-Brunt, Mumbai scored a massive score of 213/4. Gujarats reply ended at 166, giving Mumbai a 47 run victory. 

Mumbai players' disciplined bowling and fielding effort helped them restrict Gujarat's chase. Matthews took three wickets, while Amelia Kerr claimed two wickets. 

Gujarat failed to build a stable partnership in their run chase and lost wickets at crucial times. Opener Beth Mooney was dismissed in the first over by Shabnim Ismail for just 6 runs. Four overs later, Harleen Deol returned to the dressing room after a brilliant throw from Sanskriti Gupta claimed her wicket. 

Captain Gardner also didn't last long and was dismissed for just eight runs, with Gujarat crawling at 43/3. Phoebe Litchfield joined Gibson and added 38 runs to the board. Gibson's wicket fell when a direct throw from Amanjot Kaur prevented her from completing her second run. Bharti Fulmali tried to add momentum to the chase but lost her partner Litchfield in the 12th over, and the score was 107/5. 

Kashvee Gautam entered and left the pitch immediately. Matthews struck in the 15th over and bowled Fulmali, who added 30 runs. Gujarat were struggling at this moment. 

Simran Shaikh and Tanuja Kanwar tried to add some runs to the board but Mumbai bowlers tightened their grip and finished Gujarat innings in the last over. 

Earlier, batting first, Mumbai lost Yastika Bhatia in the fifth over after scoring 15 runs. Matthews and Brunt carried Mumbai and added 133 runs in the second wicket partnership. Matthews was dismissed in the 16th over after scoring 77 runs. Kashvee gautam claimed her wicket with a catch for Mooney. 

Brunt was joined by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who quick-fired to add valuable runs to the Mumbai scoreboard. Gibson claimed Brunt's wicket in the 19th over, but she had already done the damage. Meanwhile, Kaur took Mumabi to 213 runs, after firing four sixes and two boundaries. 

Hayley Matthews was selected as the player of the match for her all-round performance, claiming three wickets and scoring 77 runs. 

Brief Scores: Mumbai Indians 213/4 in 20 overs (Hayley Matthews 77, Nat Sciver-Brunt 77, Harmanpreet Kaur 36; Danielle Gibson 2/40) beat Gujarat Giants 166 all out in 19.2 overs (Danielle Gibson 34, Phoebe Litchfield 31, Bharti Fulmali 30; Hayley Matthews 3/31, Amelia Kerr 2/28).