Gardner explains why she bowled only 1 over vs MI

• Harmanpreet's 71* led MI to a 7-wicket win over GG chasing 193 in WPL.
• Gardner admits poor matchup vs Harmanpreet, explains limited bowling role.
• Harmanpreet reached 1000 WPL runs, Amanjot's 40 aided MI's victory.

Star Australia allrounder and Gujarat Giants captain Ashleigh Gardner has admitted that she does not match up well enough against India and Mumbai Indians captain Harmanpreet Kaur and hence, she didn’t

bowl enough to her despite the latter going all guns blazing.

Harmanpreet delivered a batting masterclass, scoring an unbeaten 71 to guide MI to a seven-wicket victory over GG, their highest successful chase in the Women’s Premier League, on Tuesday in Navi Mumbai.

Chasing 193, Harmanpreet smashed a 33-ball half-century, her 10th in the WPL and crossed 1,000 runs in the tournament, becoming the first Indian to reach the milestone in the league.

“Looking at the stats, I have not matched up well against Harmanpreet, she has often had the upper hand over my international career. As a skipper, there is always the risk of underutilising yourself,” Gardner said while speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony. 

“I had around eight bowling options and at the time, I felt there were better match-ups than me. Hindsight is always 20/20; maybe I was the better choice. But standing here after a loss, I can say if we had won, I would be praised for making the right bowling calls,” Gardner added. 

In T20s, Harmanpreet has scored 134 runs off 79 balls bowled to her by Gardner at a strike rate of 169.6. The latter has dismissed Harmanpreet twice.

On Tuesday, Harmanpreet scored an unbeaten 71 off 43 deliveries, smacking seven fours and two sixes, as MI sealed the chase with four balls to spare, handing GG their first loss of the season.

MI stumbled to 37/2 after losing both openers in the powerplay, but Harmanpreet found a perfect partner in Amanjot Kaur, who smashed a brilliant 40 off 26 deliveries, including seven fours.

The pair added 72 runs off just 44 deliveries to turn the match in MI’s favour.

Amanjot punished anything loose, using the paddle and slog to pierce the fine-leg and mid-wicket boundaries, while Harmanpreet counter-attacked with authority, lofting Renuka Singh over mid-off and smashing Gardner over long-on to keep the required rate under control.