Another run fest tonight as Mumbai Indians continue their straight wins record against the Gujarat Giants. They’ve now won 8 out of 8 against the Giants in the WPL.
Some interesting decisions and a Mumbai Indians classic on display tonight. Read our analyses below!
🤔 Bold or blatantly stupid? WPL’s first “retired out”
It was the last ball of the 16th over, and Gujarat Giants were delicately poised at 135 for 4. Debutant Ayushi Soni was out there with Georgia Wareham, both batters struggling—but Soni far more. She was 11 off 14, had tried to hit a few, but looked scratchy and out of rhythm.
And it was at this point that coach Michael Klinger decided it was worth taking a punt: retire out Soni and bring in a more reputed uncapped Indian hitter in Bharti Fulmali.
A first in WPL history. Soni looked visibly disappointed—and why wouldn’t she be? With how the middle overs were panning out, it felt like maybe she could have gotten her eye in and caught up. Instead, she was snubbed.
The first two deliveries Fulmali faced then almost reinforced that sentiment. She was given out LBW twice. Twice she reviewed. Twice the decision was overturned. That sort of start gives nobody confidence—except the bowling team.
But what followed was carnage.
Fulmali didn’t just redeem herself—she played an absolute blinder. Thirty-six runs off 15 balls, striking at 240, including a crucial partnership with Wareham that lifted Gujarat Giants to a more-than-competitive 192 for 5. Their last four overs alone saw them add 56 runs.
The context around that gamble makes it even more significant. Gujarat had a productive powerplay, scoring 62 despite losing Sophie Devine early. But when they lost Beth Mooney at 64 for 2, the Mumbai Indians gained a chokehold in the middle overs.
Mooney is the sort of player who gets better as the innings progresses. Since 2023 across T20s, she strikes at 112.4 in the powerplay, which jumps to 143.8 in the middle overs. In the death, she explodes—striking at 186.
Mooney’s dismissal meant rebuilding and a loss of momentum. The Giants added just 74 runs in their next 10 overs, eventually forcing them to retire out Soni, take the gamble, and salvage the innings.
Both sides of the argument have valid points. What if Fulmali had been dismissed early? What if Soni had clicked in the next few deliveries and provided the same momentum? In hindsight, it helped Gujarat get close to what they needed, but they fell short anyways.
But it could have backfired spectacularly. And that’s what made it bold.
🏏 All-rounders: The Mumbai Indians mantra that just works
Everything about the Mumbai Indians in the WPL screams all-rounders. Not just all-rounders, but absolutely quality all-rounders at that.
Their core over the years with Nat Sciver-Brunt, Hayley Matthews & Amelia Kerr. Along with the presence of Indian all-rounders like Amanjot Kaur. The retentions also made it clear that their ideology is simple. Stack your team up with quality all-rounders. Strengthen both departments without compromising on depth.
It is the reason why they’ve also been as successful. World-class players who are so good in both departments that they are essentially 2 players in 1. Having 4 such all-rounders in a side, and you’re technically looking at a 15-player lineup.
That trend has also seeped into this season, visible across the first 3 games. They seemed to have unearthed yet another gem in Nicola Carey. Carey’s been an incredible addition thus far. Six wickets in 3 games with the ball & 99 runs in 3 games with the bat, including a sublime knock tonight to power Mumbai home.
Even with them missing Matthews in the first couple of games and Nat Sciver-Brunt tonight, you can seldom feel the void thanks to how well Carey’s adapted to her role. She can swing the new ball, bowl a solid off-cutter and can hit well straight down the ground at ease.
Data from Women’s T20 Batting App using Himanish Ganjoo’s T20 cricket BBB database up until October 2025, Arnav Jain’s fielding toolkit, Cricmetric, Cricket By JB’s WPL analyses & the Broadcast.
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Also, MI are very smart in hitting more boundaries compared to sixes. In Women’s game where only 4 fielders are allowed outside inner circle post Powerplay, there are enough gaps to find boundaries. So playing risk free cricket and gaining more.
solid point, will also look into this and look for interesting trends!
Great analysis 👍
And in a nutshell MI can only lose when there is a bad day for almost all players otherwise they are too strong