Mumbai Indians will now take on Delhi Capitals in the summit clash on March 15. Catch the highlights from the MI vs GG, Women's Premier League 2025 match
Gujarat Giants: Beth Mooney (wk), Kashvee Gautam, Harleen Deol, Ashleigh Gardner (c), Phoebe Litchfield, Deandra Dottin, Bharti Fulmali, Simran Shaikh, Tanuja Kanwar, Meghna Singh, Priya Mishra, Laura Wolvaardt, Danielle Gibson, Dayalan Hemalatha, Mannat Kashyap, Shabnam Md Shakil, Prakashika Naik, Sayali Satghare
Mumbai Indians: Hayley Matthews, Amelia Kerr, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Amanjot Kaur, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Sajeevan Sajana, G Kamalini, Sanskriti Gupta, Shabnim Ismail, Parunika Sisodia, Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Keerthana Balakrishnan, Saika Ishaque, Jintimani Kalita, Amandeep Kaur, Akshita Maheshwari
The all-important Women's Premier League 2025 playoffs clash will start at 7:30pm India time. The match will be live streamed on the Jio Hotstar app and website in India, and telecast on the Star Sports Network TV channels in India.
Gujarat Giants captain Ashleigh Gardner has won the toss and elected to bowl first against Mumbai Indians. The big news from the centre is that Deandra Dottin has suffered an injury minutes before the start of the match and been replaced by Danielle Gibson. For the Harmanpreet Kaur-led MI, left-arm spinner Saika Ishaque comes back in for Parunika Sisodia.
Gujarat Giants: Beth Mooney (wk), Kashvee Gautam, Harleen Deol, Ashleigh Gardner (capt), Phoebe Litchfield, Danielle Gibson, Bharti Fulmali, Simran Shaikh, Tanuja Kanwar, Meghna Singh, Priya Mishra
Mumbai Indians: Hayley Matthews, Amelia Kerr, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Amanjot Kaur, Yastika Bhatia (wk), S Sajana, G Kamalini, Sanskriti Gupta, Shabnim Ismail, Saika Ishaque
In the absence of the injured Deandra Dottin, Kashvee Gautam takes the new ball for Gujarat Giants. Yastika Bhatia and Hayley Matthews opening for Mumbai Indians as usual. Gautam makes a disciplined start, bowling tight lines and getting the white ball to swing as well. Just two runs off the first over.
Mumbai Indians seemed to be setting up for a big opening stand after a sound start in the first four overs. But in comes WPL debutant Danielle Gibson, who has replaced the injured Deandra Dottin for the Giants, and gets rid of Yastika Bhatia off her second delivery. Nevertheless, Hayley Matthews continues unfazed, smashing Gibson for a boundary towards midwicket.
MI: 31/1 (5 overs)
Nat Sciver-Brunt has come in and accelerated the scoring rate dramatically. Hayley Matthews too has upped the ante, and the duo have amassed 63 runs off 34 balls to put Mumbai Indians in a strong position at the halfway mark of their innings. A couple of misfields from the Gujarat Giants have resulted in boundaries, further hurting their cause.
MI: 89/1 (10 overs)
Nat Sciver-Brunt is really piling on the agony for Gujarat Giants. She is in her element and is hitting fours and sixes at will, all over the ground. The 32-year-old English all-rounder gets to her fifty of 29 balls; this is her fifth half-century of the season! Hayley Matthews, on the other end, also stepping into fifth gear now. Meanwhile, the Giants are having a torrid day in the field, with a dropped catch from skipper Gardner herself, apart from umpteen misfields.
MI: 159/1 (16 overs)
An absolutely nightmarish evening in the field mercifully ends for Gujarat Giants. A series of dropped catches and misfields have helped Mumbai's cause, who finish with a towering 213-run total - the highest in a Women's Premier League playoff clash. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur tees off at the end with a 12-ball 36, and Nat Sciver-Brunt scores 77 off 41 balls.
MI: 213/4 (20 overs)
Hayley Matthews is on fire tonight! The Barbadian, after her sterling knock earlier, has pulled off a screamer at slip to help get rid of the dangerous Beth Mooney in the first over of the Gujarat Giants chase. The legendary Shabnim Ismail was the bowler, putting it on a good length in the channel outside off and drawing the outside edge. With that, the tourists' prospects of pulling off this improbable chase appear to have dwindled.
GG 15/1 (2 overs)
The night continues to get worse for Gujarat Giants, as a horrible mix-up with debutante Danielle Gibson leads to Harleen Deol getting run out for 8. Skipper Ashleigh Gardner then comes out and lofts the second ball she faces for six, but bowler Hayley Matthews has the last laugh. The West Indian beats Gardner in the flight and cleans her up with a beautiful delivery. The Giants are three down at the end of the powerplay, and the asking rate has climbed to 12 an over.
GG: 46/3 (6 overs)
One more run out for the Giants. This time, it is the debutante Danielle Gibson, who falls prey to a dodgy call for second run. She was batting on 34 off 24 at the time and could have gone on to make a big one, but had to walk back. Phoebe Litchfield has since batted fluently, racing away to an 18-ball 30 to keep her side's flickering hopes of chasing the 214-run target alive.
GG: 100/4 (11 overs)
Hayley Matthews has already done enough to be adjudged the Player of the Match tonight. After a sparkling 77 off 50 with the bat, the Barbadian has taken two crucial wickets to quell the Giants' hopes. She knocks back Bharti Fulmali's stumps with a well-flighted delivery to send her packing for 30 off 20. Gujarat are now seven down, and staring at a near-certain defeat.
GG: 145/7 (16 overs)
It's all over. Hayley Matthews fittingly gets the last wicket in the form of Meghna Singh, and the Mumbai Indians have bowled the Gujarat Giants out for 166 runs in 19.2 overs. The convincing 47-run win takes Mumbai into their second final of the Women's Premier League. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side will face Delhi Capitals in the summit clash on Saturday, March 13.
Here's what the losing captain Ashleigh Gardner had to say after the match:
"This group has got a lot to be proud of - so many positive stories, different people have stood up at different times. Absolute pleasure to lead this side. Young players putting their name up in lights - that is what it is all about in tournaments like this.
"[On how she prepared the team for the final] I just said let's not get overawed by the occasion. This franchise has never been in the final but let's just embrace it. Everyone was excited when we found out we qualified, but today, it was not to be. We did not do all three facets well enough. We missed opportunities, with the ball…and with the bat, we were short.
"[On Deandra Dottin and her injury] Obviously not ideal losing someone who has been such an important part of the team. Pretty much a like-for-like replacement (in Gibson). She (Gibson) was thrown into the deep end but she is the kind of personality that takes it head-on. I hope Dottin is okay. She just hurt her knee but I hope she is alright for the next series.
"[Message to the fans] Hopefully we are treading in the right direction. For our fans, who have backed us this season, it was nice to get some wins and play in front of the home crowd. Hopefully we can keep growing on that. Just awesome to be involved in this franchise for three years and to see it grow exponentially."
And finally, here's what the victorious captain Harmanpreet Kaur had to say after the match:
"Feeling great, it was a great team effort, really happy with the way we played today.
"Before the game, I wanted to bat first. But then we decided to chase - whatever score is on the board, if you show that trust, you can chase. Whatever happened, happened for good, and Hayley (Matthews) and Nat (Sciver-Brunt) did a good job, setting it up for us. They are great players, they know how to play these kinds of games. We don't need to tell what they need to do. Really happy with how they took responsibility and batted for the team.
"Bowling wise, we did well today. All the bowlers, they executed well, and these are the things we wanted to do. Next game is important and we need to again sit and think what went well for us."