4.2 Gibson draws first blood, and the Giants have something to show for their tidy opening gambit! Dug into the track outside off and this seems to hold in the surface. Bhatia shapes for the pull but the lack of pace means she toe-ends it completely. Fulmali does the rest at mid wicket, and Bhatia, promoted to open again, walks back for a 14-ball 15! 26/1

16.1 has Matthews nicked it?! Yes, she has, and that brings to an end one of the all-time great WPL knocks! Length ball in the channel just outside off. Matthews looks to go inside-out but the ball straightens just enough to take the faintest of outside edges. Mooney pouches it, and Gautam bows to the crowd in celebration. Matthews has done her job, though, and she has MI eyeing a score of around 200 in the Eliminator! 159/2

18.5 stop the press, the Gujarat Giants have held onto a catch! Back of a length outside off. A bit of hold in the surface and that causes the skewed stroke. NSB too early into her slog and the ball swirls towards deep mid wicket. Litchfield settles under it and completes the catch with a reverse-cup in front of her face. The crowd stands up to applaud, and many at home might be doing the same. This has been another incredible knock, and it has come just when the Mumbai Indians needed it! 198/3

19.6 a scruffy run-out to end the innings, but Mumbai still end up with 213! Slower yorker that dips on the batter very late on off stump. Harmanpreet can only dig it out along the ground to extra cover. Chances her arm on the single. Meghna does not gather it cleanly but the ball ricochets off her wrists and bobbles into the stumps, with Harmanpreet not even in the frame! 213/4

0.5 edged and taken brilliantly at wide slip! Matthews is on fire tonight, and Ismail roars in delight! Back of a length in the channel. Decks away with the angle and Mooney goes nibbling at it. Gets a healthy outside edge and Matthews snaps down low to her right to gobble up the chance. What a moment early in the game, and after all of Gujarat's dropped catches! 6/1

9.2 oh dear - another run-out, and the Giants continue to be the architects of their own downfall! On the stumps again and Gibson tugs it towards deep mid wicket. Mid-way through the first run, the batters decide to go for the second but that always seemed a risky exercise. Gibson has to stretch and scramble, but still falls short by a couple of yards, despite a dive. Just what the Giants did not need at this stage, but take nothing away from Amanjot and her laser-guided throw from the deep! 81/4

4.5 a calamitous mix-up and further catastrophe for the Gujarat Giants! Hard length, following the batter outside leg. Gibson gives herself room and cuts it towards backward point. Gupta hurls herself to her left and stops it clean. That excellent bit of fielding perhaps causes the mix-up, with Deol, in the end, opting to go through for the single. Gupta's throw, though, is good enough and Bhatia whips off the bails with Deol nowhere in the picture! 34/2

5.4 zing bails light up, and Gardner bites the dust! What a moment in this game, and the Gujarat Giants sink further into trouble! This is floated up beautifully on a length just outside off. Does not spin back in as much as Gardner expects and she plays well inside the line, looking to go inside-out. Grabs a handful of fresh air and the ball thunders into the stumps, much to Matthews' delight. The Giants' chase, just five and a bit overs in, is in danger of flagging! 43/3

11.5 Litchfield runs past one, and Kerr does what she always does - find a way to outwit a set batter! Floated up deliciously on a length on middle and leg. The ball drops on Litchfield late and she is nowhere to the pitch of the ball. Has a swipe in hope and misses the ball by a fair distance. Bhatia does the rest, and GG hearts sink again! 107/5

15.3 Matthews does Fulmali all ends up, and she comes up trump for her side, yet again! This is devilishly slower, pitching on a length on middle and leg. Fulmali backs away, trying to dab it behind point but is too early into the stroke. The ball goes on with the angle too, beats the bat and then crashes into off stump. Matthews liked that, as did those in blue and gold at the ground, and the Mumbai Indians inch closer to their second WPL final! 142/7

12.6 another run-out and the Gujarat Giants are digging their own grave! Another game of yes, no, sorry, in a match that they are anyway struggling to establish a foothold in. Gautam drives this length ball to extra cover and sets off for the single. Fulmali ball-watches and then with Gautam stranded half-way down, sends her back. Harmanpreet picks the right end and Bhatia does the rest. Gautam short by a fair bit, and that is GG's third run-out this innings! 112/6

17.1 smart grab by the skipper, and Kerr has another! Fizzed in on a back of a length just outside off. Simran looks to hack it away but is rushed on the stroke. Gets a leading edge that loops up. Harmanpreet calls early, runs to her right from extra cover and snares the chance. Excellent from the MI captain, and the Giants, well and truly, staring into the abyss now! 157/8

18.3 Kanwar falls too, and the Mumbai Indians can touch that spot in the final now! Back-of-the-hand slower ball, pitching on a full length on middle and off. Kanwar throws the plumbing at it but cuts across it too much. Generates no power and Amanjot completes the simplest of catches at cover! 165/9

19.2 Champions before anyone else and now, on the cusp of doing it all over again! Roaring in their den like they mean to rampage on - irresistible, irrepressible, invincible (almost), incredible and inevitable! And this glittering and glorious star cast, from Harmanpreet to Hayley, from Amanjot to Amelia, from Sciver-Brunt to Shabnim Ismail, will have a shot at etching and engraving themselves into WPL folklore, and at adding the final punctuation to another pointedly powerful season on their proud and pompous patch! This is slower, much slower in fact, and it entices Meghna into a wild swipe acorss the line. She gets nowhere close to the pitch of the ball, and nowhere close to the middle of the bat. Sciver-Brunt hurtles to her left from deep mid wicket, settles under it and does the rest. Handshakes, smiles and embraces in the MI camp. They knew what they had to do tonight, and they have accomplished that to the tee. The GG dugout is a little more sombre, which is understandable. They too knew what they needed to do, and how they probably needed to play out of their skin, but on the big night, when they required their players to stand up, they just did not turn up, which may feel more heart-breaking than the result itself! 166/10