Mumbai, Mar 15 (UNI) Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur's commanding 66 off 44 balls powered Mumbai Indians Women to a competitive total of 149 for 7 against Delhi Capitals in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) final at Brabourne Stadium here on Saturday.
Sent into bat, Mumbai faced early setbacks as Marizanne Kapp struck twice in the powerplay, dismissing Yastika Bhatia (8) and Hayley Matthews (3). Nat Sciver-Brunt (30 off 28) provided stability, but it was Harmanpreet who took charge with a series of authoritative strokes, finding the fence with regularity. Her innings, laced with nine boundaries and two sixes, kept the scoreboard ticking and put Delhi on the backfoot.
Harmanpreet was at her fluent best, dispatching Jess Jonassen and Minnu Mani for consecutive boundaries in the middle overs. She reached her half-century in the 13th over with a powerful drive off Minnu, underlining her form on the big occasion.
Nat Sciver-Brunt (30) and Amanjot Kaur (14*) made crucial contributions, but Annabel Sutherland and Jonassen pulled things back for Delhi with timely breakthroughs. Gunalan Kamalini (10) and Sanskriti Gupta (8*) provided some late impetus, ensuring Mumbai breached the 140-run mark.
For Delhi, Kapp (4-0-11-2) was the standout bowler, while Jonassen and Nallapurreddy Charani picked two wickets each, while Shikha Pandey proved expensive, conceding 29 runs in her four overs.
Mumbai's total was further boosted by a flurry of late boundaries, including a well-timed lofted drive from Amanjot off Shikha and a clean strike from Kamalini off Charani. However, Delhi made key inroads, removing Harmanpreet in the 17th over and keeping Mumbai from accelerating further in the death overs.
With a competitive 149 on the board, Mumbai Indians will rely on their bowlers to defend the total and claim the WPL title.
UNI BDN ARN