END OF OVER:20 | 3 Runs 3 Wkts | GG-W: 170/10 (10 runs required, RR: 8.50)
- Meghna Singh1 (1b)
- Hayley Matthews4-0-38-3
- Nat Sciver-Brunt3-0-28-0
11:25pm And that is a wrap from tonight. But we will be back at it in less than 24 hours from now, with the Mumbai Indians trying to sew up a berth in the final against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, defending champions but out of contention already. Do join us for that game, and until then, this is goodbye from Ranjith, Sudeep and myself. Take care, folks!
Trinity: "And that will then mean WINS will read 6-5-4-3-2 while LOSSES will read 2-3-4-5-6" -- Seems like the NRR calculations has gotten everyone's mathematical juices flowing...
Harmanpreet Kaur, the Mumbai Indians captain is also the Player of the Match: We bowled well in patches, we should give credit to their batters as well. They kept the match on and we have to learn from our mistakes. At the end of the day, when you win, you are happy. We will re-think what went wrong and try to learn from our mistakes (in the next game). (On the score) I think we got a decent total on the board. We were in the game in the first ten overs, but then they batted really well. That is (the thing) about the CCI wicket, if you bat well, anything is chaseable. We should give credit to Bharti for the way she batted. Lots of learnings for us and we have to think what we can do well in the next game. (On how she chooses who will bowl) It is always about the match-ups and how things are going, and what your gut feeling is saying. I am really happy that we have so much experience in the bowling side. It was a good game for us to take a lot of learnings and next game, we will hopefully come up with greater positive mindset. Very happy when you get runs here, I was enjoying my batting and want to continue this rhythm. I just keep telling myself to utilize whatever ball is coming to its best, and I want to continue that. (On playing again tomorrow) Good we played today and we understood how the pitch and the conditions are. Recovery is something that is going to play a big role (because of the back-to-back matches).
SandyKam: "In likely scenario of MI beating RCB, teams will have 12, 10, 8, 6 and 4 points on the table." -- Looks like we have an arithmetic progression fan in the house...
Ashleigh Gardner, Gujarat Giants captain: (On if she was happy chasing 180) Yes and no. we knew it was a high-scoring venue, we probably let a few runs in the field. Could have realistically kept them to 160. That is how it goes, you don't save those runs in the field and make it harder. Tried to take the game on (knowing we had to chase inside 18 overs), fought till the end, unfortunately we were on the losing side. We had the safety blanket of knowing we would be in the playoffs. It was not to be tonight, but knowing that gave us a bit of breathing room. Plenty of positives to take from tonight, with bat and ball, and also some things to improve on. (On Kashvee Gautam opening) We think she is capable of doing that role. Her strength is to play down the ground and take the game on. The best teams take the powerplay on, score runs and put pressure on the opposition, and hopefully that gives confidence (to Kashvee) moving forward. We have seen what she (Bharti) is capable of doing. There was another game where she absolutely whacked it. She plays a bit of a different role in the middle order and it was awesome to see her almost taking us home. (On their 0-6 record against MI) We want to get to that final, hopefully if we come up against them again, we can change that tune.
Amelia Kerr, Purple Cap holder: (On opening the batting) It has been a little bit of a frustrating tournament with the bat. Nice to be up the order. Probably need to give myself a chance and value my wicket a little more. Plenty more cricket to come, hopefully I can get some runs when it counts. (On the chat after being asked to bat first) There was not much (of a chat). The great thing with our batting side is the depth. Amanjot has been outstanding and then Yastika at the end…at the 10-over mark, we would have liked more runs. We had our eyes on 170 and Yastika put the icing on the cake (towards the end). Bit closer than what we would have liked but happy to get the job done. There is one short side, fortunately I got a couple (of overs) with the long leg-side boundary. Batters also have to be smart, you can score both sides, and as a bowler, someone has to step up and do that job. Try to keep the stumps in play. There was some incredible ball-striking tonight and that is the biggest challenge in this competition, and how you take that away from the batters. She (Shabnim Ismail) is ridiculous, she is so good, easily the best pacer in the world. Nice for me that she has retired from international cricket (smiles). Bowls through the powerplay, very skilful, swings it and bowls at pace.
11pm Phew. That is perhaps the only expression that can sum up this game. The Giants seemed out of it, especially when Dottin fell and they were tottering at 92-6. But then, Fulmali took matters into her hands and she produced an unrivalled display of power-hitting - a display that made jaws drop and kept the Giants afloat. And just when it seemed Fulmali would have too much for Mumbai, the Kiwi magician aka Amelia Kerr, rocked up and pulled a rabbit out of the hat.
GG were not done, though. And they had another late burst and charge at the target, courtesy Kanwar and Simran, only to fall short at the final over. Matthews bowled that over and ensured MI got past the finish line, having been helped earlier in the evening by Kerr, who bagged three. Ismail was incredible too, bagging the crucial wickets of Gardner and Litchfield, and MI, given how they were pressed into action at different times, will be pleased with the eventual outcome.
Priya Mishra st †Bhatia b Matthews 1 (10m 3b 0x4 0x6) SR: 33.33
Meghna up now. 11 needed still
Mishra on strike
Simran Shaikh b Matthews 18 (27m 16b 1x4 1x6) SR: 112.5
TP Kanwar run out 10 (11m 6b 2x4 0x6) SR: 166.66
13 needed off the final over, which will be bowled by Matthews, who has given away 35 in her three previous overs tonight
END OF OVER:19 | 10 Runs | GG-W: 167/7 (13 runs required from 6 balls, RR: 8.78, RRR: 13.00)
- Tanuja Kanwar10 (6b)
- Simran Shaikh17 (14b)
- Nat Sciver-Brunt3-0-28-0
- Hayley Matthews3-0-35-1
Keeper goes back
16 off 7. GG will love a boundary here
The Giants cannot finish at the top of the points table, by the way
Around the wicket
This is game-on. 23 off 12. Do GG have the advantage? Sciver-Brunt tasked with bowling the penultimate over
END OF OVER:18 | 15 Runs | GG-W: 157/7 (23 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 8.72, RRR: 11.50)
- Tanuja Kanwar8 (4b)
- Simran Shaikh11 (10b)
- Hayley Matthews3-0-35-1
- Amelia Kerr4-0-34-3
Over the wicket now
Kanwar on strike
Matthews returns
END OF OVER:17 | 17 Runs 1 Wkt | GG-W: 142/7 (38 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 8.35, RRR: 12.66)
- Simran Shaikh4 (8b)
- Amelia Kerr4-0-34-3
- Parunika Sisodia2-0-19-0
BS Fulmali c Kamalini b Kerr 61 (27m 25b 8x4 4x6) SR: 244