Mumbai Indians franchise owner Nita Ambani has seen 15 seasons of the men’s IPL and her team has won 5 IPL trophies and won several thrilling encounters. However, the first match of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) – which was a one-sided contest that MI won by 146 runs – she said was “one of the best matches I’ve watched”.
That tells something about the joy she had as she saw Harmanpreet Kaur and other MI batters smoke the Gujarat Giants bowlers for 207 runs before the Saika Ishaque-led bowling attack bundled the Giants for only 64.
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur bludgeoned 65 runs in just 30 balls in the first-ever WPL match on Saturday at the DY Patil Stadium.
Other than Kaur other MI players played their part: Hayley Matthews smashed 47 (31), Nat Sciver-Brunt scored 23 (18), and Amelia Kerr walloped 45 (24) before Pooja Vastrakar (15 off 8) and Issy Wong (6 off 1) gave the finishing touches. Uncapped left-arm spinner Saika Ishaque took 4 wickets while leg-spinner Amelia Kerr took 2 wickets and so did Nat Sciver-Brunt.
Nita Ambani met the players and staff after the match to deliver a speech, applauding them for their commendable effort.
“I’ve seen so many matches over the years, but this was one of the best matches I’ve watched,” said Ambani told the team.
She also started a ritual where after every win, they will all get into a huddle in which she’d say “Mumbai” and the rest will shout “Indians”.
The Mumbai Indians Twitter handle uploaded this video of Nita Ambani:
“I’ve seen so many matches over the years, but this was one of the best matches I’ve watched.” – Mrs. Nita M. Ambani
💙💪#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #AaliRe #WPL2023 pic.twitter.com/srAE9z10ma
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) March 5, 2023
Speaking of the “dream” start to the WPL tournament, Harmanpreet Kaur was elated to make it a blockbuster onset of the WPL 2023.
“I think it was a brilliant start, it felt like a dream come true. First day and whatever we did it worked well for us. We kept things simpe and clear. Told players to play natural. It is a big day for women’s cricket and we talked about expressing ourselves. I watched the ball nicely and backed myself. Whatever came my way, I backed myself and it went my way,” Kaur said in the press conference.
“When we were batting, we knew it is a very good batting wicket. When the other team was bowling in the right spot, it was not easy to play. So told our bowlers it will not be easy if you bowl in the right spot. And I am happy that every bowler bowled well. It’s a big day and a big victory for us and the way we started, we are really happy.”
