Mumbai Indians extend their unbeaten run, beat Gujarat Giants by 9 runs

With two games left in the league stage Mumbai Indians will look to make the most of the opportunity and push for a firstplace finish on the WPL points table starting with the clash against inform Gujarat Giants on MondayUP Warriorzs win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru by 12 runs knocked the defending champions out from the race to the playoffs on Saturday confirming the qualification for Delhi Capitals Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Giants in the processBut what remains is the final classification of the points table Harmanpreet Kaurs MI who return to the Brabourne Stadium here for the final leg of the third WPL their home ground where they had won the inaugural edition in 2023 will look for a topplace finishThe team that tops the points table at the end of the league round will get a direct entry into the final and MI who play backtoback matches on Monday and Tuesday will aim to go past DC who are currently at the first spot with 10 points and a Net Run Rate of 0396For MI topping the table will also help them avoid a possible fourth game in a span of six days the Eliminator which could test the squad to the hilt in hot and humid conditions hereMI are currently third with 8 points and NRR of 0267 and if they win both these matches against GG and RCB they can finish at the top with a maximum of 12 pointsThe Giants currently placed second 8 points and NRR of 0334 can finish at best with 10 points provided they beat Mumbai Indians which would place them at even keel with DC In such a scenario the NRR will determine how teams are placed on the points tableThe teams that finish second and third will meet in the Eliminator on Thursday with the summit clash slated to be played on SaturdayBut it wont be an easy task to begin with for MI as the Giants have been on a roll recording three heavy wins on the trot to make it to the final threeNot only have the Giants batters been firing in unison their bowlers have also found their rhythm which makes them a team to beat in this knockouts roundA maiden appearance in the WPL playoffs would certainly inspire the Giants who turned things around after a dismal start that had them losing three of their first four matchesOn the other hand MI have four wins and two defeats in six outings so far which has helped them to make their third WPL playoffsOnce again overseas stars Nat SciverBrunt 309 runs and 8 wickets Hayley Matthews 181 runs and 9 wickets and Amelia Kerr 10 wickets have been at the forefront of their charge with skipper Harmanpreet 126 runs in towFor the Giants the troika of skipper Ashleigh Gardner 235 runs 7 wickets Beth Mooney 224 runs and Harleen Deol 200 runs in the batting lineup have found strong backing from their bowlersWest Indies allrounder Deandra Dottin 132 runs 9 wickets hasnt really put a foot wrong but the revelation has been Indias uncapped Kashvee Gautam 9 wickets this season Tanuja Kanwer 7 wickets is not too far behindGG vs MI live updates Full squadsMumbai Indians Harmanpreet Kaur c Akshita Maheshwari Amandeep Kaur Amanjot Kaur Amelia Kerr Chloe Tryon Hayley Matthews Jintimani Kalita Keerthana Balakrishnan Nadine de Klerk Natalie SciverBrunt Sajeevan Sajana Sanskriti Gupta G Kamalini wk Yastika Bhatia wk Parunika Sisodia Saika Ishaque Shabnim IsmaiGujarat Giants Ashleigh Garnder c Laura Wolvaardt Bharti Fulmali Phoebe Litchfield Simran Shaikh Danielle Gibson Dayalan Hemalatha Deandra Dottin Harleen Deol Sayali Satghare Tanuja Kanwer Beth Mooney wk Kashvee Gautam Mannat Kashyap Meghna Singh Prakashika Naik Priya Mishra Shabman ShakilGG vs MI live updates Playing XIsMumbai Indians Hayley Matthews Yastika Bhatiaw Nat SciverBrunt Harmanpreet Kaurc Amelia Kerr Sajeevan Sajana G Kamalini Amanjot Kaur Sanskriti Gupta Shabnim Ismail Parunika SisodiaGujarat Giants Beth Mooneyw Harleen Deol Ashleigh Gardnerc Dayalan Hemalatha Deandra Dottin Kashvee Gautam Phoebe Litchfield Bharti Fulmali Tanuja Kanwar Meghna Singh Priya MishraGG vs MI live updates TossGujarat Giants won the toss and elect to bowl first here at the Brabourne stadium in MumbaiGG 1719 20Mumbai Indians beat Giants by nine runs to go on top of the points tableGG 1427 17Fulmali departs after a sensational innings scoring 61 off just 25 balls Despite her explosive knock Gujarat Giants find themselves in deep trouble at seven wickets downGG 654 10Mumbai Indians have dominated the first 10 overs taking crucial wickets at regular intervals They have effectively restricted Gujarat Giants from scoring freely especially after the powerplay With MI maintaining the pressure Gujarat will need a remarkable turnaround to stay in the contestGG 423 7A massive breakthrough for MI as Gujarat Giants skipper Gardner departs for a duck Matthews took a stunning catch in the slip region giving Ismail the credit for this crucial dismissal Gujarat Giants are now three down in their run chaseGG 402 6MI extend their success in the powerplay as Sanskriti dismisses Kashvee for 10 runs Yastika then executed a brilliant stumping leaving Gujarat Giants 2 down in this tough run chaseGG 150 3After a strong start Gujarat Giants have lost their first wicket in this challenging run chase Matthews provided the breakthrough with Sanskriti taking a stunning diving catch to dismiss Mooney for 7MI 1796 20Mumbai Indians set a challenging target of 180 posting a total of 1796 in their 20 overs after being asked to bat first Skipper Harmanpreet led the charge with a solid 54run knock For Gujarat Giants Tanuja Gardner Kashvee and Priya each took a wicket contributing to the teams bowling effortMI 1514 18Despite MI losing wickets in quick succession captain Kaur is taking charge in the middle as the team total crosses 150 That over from Gardner saw 12 runs added to the scoreboard further fueling MIs momentumMI 1063 14The partnership between skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and SciverBrunt was broken with captain Gardner delivering the crucial breakthrough for the Giants SciverBrunts determined knock of 38 runs comes to a close as MI lose their third wicketMI 462 7Gujaratrsquos Priya strikes in her first over Mooney meanwhile makes no mistake with the catch even as Mumbai are dealt with a major blow with powerhitter Matthews walking back to the pavilionMI 171 3Gardner throws a brilliant direct hit to send Amelia Kerr back to the pavilion A few dot balls had piled the pressure on Kerr who eager for a single that seemed out of reach attempted a risky run Gardner capitalised on the opportunity and MI lost their first wicket in a stunning turn of eventsMI 120 1Good over for Mumbai Indians as Hayley Matthews and Amelia Kerr took crease for them after being put into bat first 12 runs came off the opening over bowled by Deandra Dottin