Gujarat Giants break MI jinx to qualify for Eliminator

Harmanpreet Kaur's blazing 48-ball 82* went in vain as Gujarat Giants clinched an 11-run win at the BCA Stadium in Kotambi on Friday - their first-ever victory in nine Women's Premier League encounters against Mumbai Indians - to secure a place in the Eliminator of WPL 2026. With a victory assuring a place in the next round up for grabs for both teams, Giants opted to bat first. But a testing spell from Shabnim Ismail and Nat Sciver-Brunt upfront had kept Giants in check. Beth Mooney left on a cheap note, but a few extras prevented the Mumbai Indians from completely gaining the lead. In addition, during the powerplay, Anushka Sharma and Sophie Devine were quick to attack the young Vaishnavi Sharma. Giants brought up their half-century mid-way through the seventh over, but could never really push the accelerator, going at seven-an-over till the ninth over before Anushka lofted Amelia Kerr over long-off for a six. The veteran leggie, on the other hand, had the last laugh, and Anushka misjudged her googly by making the subsequent delivery too long. Devine fell in the next over, slogsweeping to Sciver-Brunt deep midwicket. Until the 88th delivery, when the Giants reached their 100, the entire innings was a little bit of a push and pull. However, by that time, Georgia Wareham and Ash Gardner had settled in and were pressing the accelerator. The region from mid wicket to fine leg saw a lot of traffic, with three boundaries and two sixes coming off the next six deliveries. Even when Ismail came up in the pacer's final over, the pair didn't back down, carting her for two boundaries each. However, Mumbai Indians were able to reverse the momentum in the final overs, holding Giants to 167 for 4. Renuka Thakur and Kashvee Gautam, the Giants' new ball attack, probed the Mumbai Indians' openers early on, but they were unable to break free. The defending champions were left reeling at 37 for 3 in the seventh over when Sophie Devine dismissed the dangerous Hayley Matthews and Sciver-Brunt in consecutive overs. With the effect of the new ball wearing off, the onus was on Harmanpreet and Kerr to rebuild the innings through the middle phase. Harmanpreet, who was teased to attack the offside boundary on the longer side, was comfortably rocking back and cutting a flurry of fours off the spinners. Kerr struggled for similar momentum in her innings, and was eventually caught behind while attempting to cut a legbreak from Wareham. Harmanpreet and Amanjot were given the task of writing a well-known run-chase because MI's lower ranks had not been put through enough testing this season. They measured their attack and discovered that the Giants had largely controlled the rate at which a boundary was scored in each subsequent over. With 58 needed off the last four overs, the MI skipper broke free. She carted Rajeshwari Gayakwad for a boundary and a six to raise her half-century. Amanjot attempted to continue the carnage. She was, however, stumped after lofting the spinner for a boundary. Soon enough, Wareham trapped Sanskriti Gupta legbefore and reduced MI to 127 for 6 in the 18th over. In spite of conceding two boundaries, Devine bowled the penultimate over, putting MI in a position where they needed 26 off the final over. Gardner chose to bowl the final over despite having the services of Renuka and Kashvee. Even if Harmanpreet had to clear the longer side of the boundary on the leg side, it was still a risky proposition. The ropes were slammed by one swing. She missed the second one. The third darted away from her, was comfortably hoisted over the boundary again, bringing the equation down to 14 from 3. Harmanpreet swung again, but could only take a single and end MI's hopes. Gardner completed the formalities and sealed her team's passage to the next round. The Mumbai Indians will now have to wait for Sunday's outcome of the game between the Delhi Capitals and the UP Warriorz. If Capitals win, it will be the first time that the Harmanpreet-led side will be knocked out in the group stage. MI will have a better chance of winning with a higher Net Run Rate if Warriorz win.