Skipper Ashleigh Gardner and Georgia Wareham delivered all-round performances as Gujarat Giants finally snapped their long-standing jinx against defending champions Mumbai Indians, registering an 11-run victory to seal a place in the Women’s Premier League Eliminator on Friday.
After opting to bat, Gujarat recovered from a mid-innings wobble thanks to a decisive 71-run partnership between Gardner and Wareham. Gardner played a counter-attacking knock of 46 off 28 balls, while Wareham chipped in with a fluent 44 from 26 deliveries, guiding the Giants to a competitive 167 for 4.
In reply, Mumbai Indians found the chase difficult on a tricky surface and were restricted to 156 for 7, despite a valiant unbeaten 82 off 48 balls from skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, which included eight fours and four sixes.
The win marked Gujarat’s first-ever victory over Mumbai after eight consecutive defeats and came at the perfect time, confirming their spot in Tuesday’s Eliminator.
Mumbai’s qualification hopes now hinge on Sunday’s final league match between Delhi Capitals and UP Warriorz. A Delhi win will seal their Eliminator berth, while an upset victory for bottom-placed UP could still keep Mumbai in contention. UP Warriorz, however, face a tough task, needing a massive win to overturn their inferior net run rate of -1.146 compared to Mumbai’s 0.146.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru have already secured a direct entry into the final after topping the standings with six wins from eight matches.
Mumbai’s chase got off to a shaky start as Sophie Devine struck early, dismissing Hayley Matthews for 6 with a low delivery before removing Nat Sciver-Brunt for 2, with Anushka Sharma taking a sharp catch near the deep square-leg boundary.
Sajeevan Sajana offered brief resistance with a 26-run cameo, attacking Kashvee Gautam with a couple of crisp strokes, but the young seamer had the final say by dismissing her off the last ball of the over.
Georgia Wareham then tightened the screws during the middle overs, returning impressive figures of 2 for 26 as she removed Amelia Kerr (20) and Sanskriti Gupta (0). Gardner also chipped in with a wicket, finishing with figures of 1 for 26.
Needing 37 runs from the final two overs, with Harmanpreet well set after registering her third fifty of the season, Mumbai still fell short. The skipper struck two sixes off Gardner in the final over, but the target proved out of reach as Mumbai suffered their first-ever defeat against Gujarat.
Earlier, Gujarat looked in trouble after losing set batters Anushka Sharma (33) and Sophie Devine (25) in quick succession, with Amelia Kerr (2/26) and Shabnim Ismail (1/29) applying the brakes effectively.
Gardner shifted momentum dramatically in the 16th over, taking Hayley Matthews for 19 runs with a combination of power and placement. She followed it up by punishing Shabnim Ismail for four boundaries in the next over, disrupting an otherwise economical spell.
Kerr eventually halted the charge, deceiving Gardner in flight to produce a sharp stumping. Gardner’s knock, featuring seven fours and a six, ensured Gujarat plundered 61 runs in the final five overs to post a match-winning total.
