New Delhi: Harmanpreet Kaur scored a stunning knock to lead Mumbai Indians to victory in the inaugural encounter with Gujarat Giants. Her inning of 65 off 30 balls was the first fifty of the Women’s Premier League and set the stage for the tournament to follow. After the win, Kaur was interviewed by MI’s bowling coach and legendary Indian pacer Jhulan Goswami.
Talking about her inning, Harmanpreet said it was the first game and there was a lot going on in her head, but after hitting the first ball the pressure was off. Jhulan asked her about communicating with youngsters and overseas players, to which she replied that her job got easier due to the communication by the support staff. She added that the team has match-winners and positive domestic players, who are good fielders.
How about that for a start! ?
2️⃣ legends, 1️⃣ frame & a historic opening day of the #TATAWPL! ? ?
Captain @ImHarmanpreet and Bowling Coach & Mentor @JhulanG10 chat up after @mipaltan‘s win ? ? – By @ameyatilak
Full Interview ? ? #GGvMIhttps://t.co/XZoh6assR1 pic.twitter.com/iaPXq6cnJz
— Women’s Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) March 5, 2023
Rohit Sharma wished Harmapreet and the team ahead of the game, talking about it the batter said that the senior’s wishes create a positive environment. Goswami asked her about how it felt with the support staff and Harmanpreet said that Jhulan took care of the domestic players and Charl0tte Edwards helped with the overseas ones, which made things easier for her.
#WPL kicks off today! Best wishes to all the teams. A special shout out to our girls @mipaltan go well
— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) March 4, 2023
Indian batter Jemimah Rodrigues shared a poetic tweet for Harmanpreet and she said that Jemi made this rap for her when she was going into her 100th T20I game.
Naam ke piche Kaur Hai Log Khete Usse Thor Hai!!?
What a way to start the #TataWPL
Just brilliant ??@ImHarmanpreet— Jemimah Rodrigues (@JemiRodrigues) March 4, 2023
In the game, Harmanpreet hit a total of 14 fours, out of which Monica Patel and Ashleigh Gardner became the target for her seven consecutive boundaries. Hayley Matthews scored 47 off 31 while Amelia Kerr and Pooja Vastrakar gave a perfect finish with their 45 off 24 and 15 off 8 respectively. Nat Sciver-Brunt also contributed with 23(18).
MI managed a huge total of 207 and Gujarat Giants were wrapped up for just 64. Uncapped spinner Saika Ishaque picked four wickets while Dayalan Hemlatha, 29*(23), could score some runs for GG.
