Star Australia leg-spinner Georgia Wareham led from the front as Gujarat Giants produced a commanding performance to beat defending champions Mumbai Indians by 11 runs, sealing their place in the Eliminator of the 2026 Women’s Premier League on Friday at the BCA Stadium in Kotambi, Vadodara, under Ashleigh Gardner’s captaincy.
With five wins from eight matches, Gujarat are now assured of a place in the Eliminator and will be joined by either Mumbai or the Delhi Capitals.
Opting to bat first, Gujarat lost Beth Mooney in the third over before Sophie Devine and Anushka Sharma added 48 runs for the second wicket.
Turning point
Gujarat soon found themselves at 71/3 in the 11th over, before Gardner and Wareham added 71 runs for the fourth wicket to take
their team close to a respectable score. For Mumbai, Amelia Kerr picked up two wickets.
In the chase, Mumbai slipped to 37/3 in the seventh over before captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Amelia steadied the innings with a 45-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
After Amelia was dismissed by Wareham in the 12th over, Harmanpreet and Amanjot Kaur put on a 44-run stand for the fifth wicket.
But after the latter was dismissed by Rajeshwari Gayakwad in the 17th over, Mumbai could not build any more partnerships and could manage only 156 in 20 overs, thus losing a golden opportunity to qualify for the Eliminator.
Big Hits
Chasing 168 on a tricky pitch in a high-pressure encounter proved a stiff task for the Mumbai Indians, who were held to 156/7 despite a valiant unbeaten 82 off 48 balls from skipper Harmanpreet, laced with eight boundaries and four sixes at a strike rate of 170.83.
Needing 37 runs from the final two overs with Harmanpreet well set on her third fifty of the season, MI still came up short. The skipper cleared Gardner’s bowling for two sixes in the last over, but the target proved out of reach, handing GG their first-ever victory over MI.
