NEWS
Follow UsDefending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) became the first team assure themselves of a top-three finish and make it through to the next round with a resounding seven-wicket victory against Gujarat Giants (GG) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Saturday (March 9).
Chasing 191, MI skipper Harmanpreet Kaur led from the front, smashing an unbeaten 95 off just 48 deliveries.
MI needed 72 runs from the last five overs and Harmanpreet had just about started to shift to fifth gear. Eventually, she pulled off an incredible run-chase with as many as 10 fours and five sixes punctuating her innings.
Speaking of her innings all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt believes that her skipper is at her best when the pressure is on.
"She is different on game day. When we are in the hotel, she is relaxed with the group. On game day she is a lot more focused and tunnel-visioned on what the task is. I’ve noticed that," Sciver-Brunt said at the post-match press conference.
"When she bats, she’s not often flustered about things like when she hasn’t gotten to a good start. Like we saw today, she doesn’t need to. She believes in herself and her ability. She has played some special knocks over the years against all international sides and in the WPL. When the pressure is on, she enjoys being out there.
"So far we have batted well together. As a senior player in the team and part of a wider leadership group, we are able to share our thoughts, and that is why we have won a few games."\
In a first, the sprinklers came on in the the 19th over, during the chase. As a result, the play was stopped for about 15 minutes, with MI needing 23 from the final 12 deliveries. It received some mixed reaction, but Sciver-Brunt says she saw the funny side.
"Jhulan [Goswami] was very annoyed, and so were some other players. I thought it was ridiculous and I started laughing when the sprinklers came on," the England all-rounder said.
"We were a bit worried it would halt our momentum because we’d had two or three good overs. But Melie said Harman told her ‘it’s good, we need a break. We have a rest and we can keep going’. Even in that moment she was really focused."
MI will hope to remain at the top of the table and secure a place in the final by beating Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their final round-robin game on Tuesday (March 12).
