Harmanpreet Kaur is making a habit of leading her team from the front and taking them to certain victories in the 2026 Women’s Premier League. She was once again the top-performer on Tuesday (January 13) as the Mumbai Indians (MI) secured a nervy but ultimately deserved win over Gujarat Giants (GG) at the DY Patil Sports Academy Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Tuesday (January 13).
MI had the match under control in the first innings when they had restricted GG to 99/4 by the 11th over. Georgia Wareham and Bharti Fulmali’s stunning late flourish took them to a brilliant 192/5.
Tasked with the highest-ever chase for the franchise in WPL, MI, like their opponents, stuttered early as GG reduced them to 37/2 inside the powerplay. That’s when Harmanpreet
joined hands with Amanjot Kaur.
The duo put up a magnificent 72-run stand off just 44 balls. Amanjot was more of an agressor but Harmanpreet looked like the orchestrator, guiding her junior, while striking at 143 herself.
Amanjot’s wicket at 109 runs in the 13th over brought some parity, but not for long. Harmanpreet’s partnership with the in-form Nicola Carey was even better, yielding 84 runs off just 43 balls.
The duo’s decision to go after almost every ball put GG under immense pressure and Ash Gardner’s team didn’t help itself by dropping a ludicrous number of catches and some extra misfields. Harmanpreet rode her luck a bit, but rushed to 38 off 20 balls in this partnership, ultimately finishing the game with a four in the last over.
With her tenth fifty-plus score, the MI skipper went past some WPL legends to top the list of players with the most half-centuries in the competition. She also became the first Indian and the second overall, after teammate Nat Sciver-Brunt, to surpass the 1,000-run mark in the competition with 1016 runs.
“It was a good game,” Harmanpreet said at the post-match press conference, while collecting the Player of the Match award and the Orange Cap. “I think while bowling, we gave away too many runs. Again, we need to sit down and discuss our plans. But batting-wise, we were good. We calculated it well. Amanjot and I, while batting together, calculated things nicely. She batted beautifully, and in the end, Nicola Carey came in and took all the pressure off me.”
