Bengaluru, March 3 (IANS): Defending champions Mumbai Indians reached their 132-run target set by Royal Challengers Bangalore in 15.1 overs to win Saturday’s match in 2024 WPL by seven wickets and now have six points from four games to be at the top of the points table.
The side will now kickstart the Delhi leg of the tournament against Delhi Capitals on March 5 and captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who missed the last two matches due to an injury, said they will now be reading conditions, evaluate the pitch and outfield for making their plans for the road ahead on reaching the national capital.
"The venue will be changing and we'll be moving to Delhi. The first thing is to get there and read the conditions. We’ll plan accordingly. It’s tough to plan that far ahead from here right now. The second we land, we'll go to the ground and evaluate the pitch, the outfield, and we’ll make the team and future plans accordingly," said Harmanpreet on ‘Match Center Live’ show on JioCinema and Sports18.
Reema Malhotra, the former India women’s cricketer, feels the Mumbai Indians are title contenders again for defending their WPL title. “This is a team who have been champions and still play like champions. Harmanpreet Kaur played like a champion (when fit). They beat RCB on their home ground tonight and RCB are a strong team.”
"This team has a positive atmosphere around it, and they have a number of match-winners. Nat Sciver-Brunt captained well in Harmanpreet’s absence, and Hayley Matthews has played well. The bowling unit did its job. Their Indian players, especially Pooja and Saika did well. I’ve always felt if your Indian players play well, you will be successful."
Speaking about wearing number seven on her jersey, Harmanpreet said, "I think No. 7 has been lucky for the IPL and I hope that luck continues in the WPL too. It was my number when I played in school, I always used to get that. My Indian team jersey number was different but I just thought that I’d like it more if I could continue with the number I used in school. So, one day, I just took the numbers back."
Stand-in captain Nat Sciver-Brunt had a great time against RCB by shuffling her bowlers, taking 2/27 with the ball and making a quick 27 in her team’s win, leaving India wicketkeeper-batter Sushma Verma impressed. “This is what she’s been doing for England. It’s not like she’s a brand new captain exclusively for this format. She’s a big name and the performance reflected that.”
"We expected that she’d finish the game with the bat as Harman often plays that role, but with her shot-selection, I’d say, she attempted to hit the ball a little early. Otherwise, she could’ve had a complete ‘leading from the front’ captain’s innings.
"Harman is a separate captain and player. Nat Sciver-Brunt tried to replicate that. The best thing for them as a bowling unit was about how everyone chipped in and picked up back-to-back wickets, not allowing anyone to settle," she signed off.