Despite Gujarat Giants’ nine-run loss to Mumbai Indians in their final league game, its head coach Michael Klinger said that he was proud of his side’s effort in its Women’s Premier League match here on Monday.
“It would have been nice to get over the line. But from the start, our aim was to finish in the top spot. We had a real hot crack at it and missed out and that’s fine. The staff and management are really proud of this playing group,” he added.
Coming into the fixture on the back of a four-game winning streak, the Giants were eyeing a maiden WPL win over Mumbai Indians. A tense game saw the Indian talent pool of the side take the game to the very end where they fell short.
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With Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney, Phoebe Litchfield, Deandra Dottin and Harleen Deol unable to sink their teeth into a flat batting track, it was pyrotechnics from Bharti Fulmali – who scored a whirlwind 25-ball 61 and Simran Shaikh (18 off 16 balls) that gave Giants the audacity to dream till the final over of the chase.
“We’ve certainly given them a bit of a scare. If we come up against them in the knockout game or in the final, I think they know what we’re on about. So I think that ending to us means more than a loss,” Klinger said.
Bharti Fulmali in action during the WPL Match between Mumbai Indians vs Gujarat Giants held at CCI Stadium in Mumbai on Monday.
| Photo Credit:
Emmanual Yogini/The Hindu
Bharti Fulmali in action during the WPL Match between Mumbai Indians vs Gujarat Giants held at CCI Stadium in Mumbai on Monday.
| Photo Credit:
Emmanual Yogini/The Hindu
Klinger was effusive in his praise of Bharti who single-handedly infused belief in the GG dugout when all looked lost after Deandra Dottin fell off the first ball of the 14th over. The 30-year-old has not had too many opportunities in the middle but made a crucial 42 against Delhi Capitals in the Bengaluru leg.
“There’s been some games where she’s come in with only a little bit to go. We were trying to go pretty hard to try and get 180 and wickets fell. She got an opportunity to bat for a while and showed what she can do and the power that she has. She may get another chance to win us a game in the eliminator or final. Without her innings, we wouldn’t have gotten close, so it was some great viewing from the sidelines.”
Klinger also lauded Kashvee Gautam for her malleability.
“That’s (domestic pool) probably been our strength this year compared to previous years where we may have relied on a select number of players. In this tournament, we’ve had a number of contributors like Priya (Mishra) and Kashvi. We get quality overs out of them into our starting eleven. That’s probably the main reason we’re able to perform well this year.”
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“We knew early on when we were losing that we weren’t quite playing at our best. But when we got close to that, we could beat any team in the competition. We lost this one in the last four (overs) and that’s okay. If we wouldn’t have tried to get the runs in 18 overs, the 180 chase would have massively gone wrong. We had nothing to lose so it was worth having a go at it,” Klinger added.
Gujarat Giants will next play the eliminator against either Delhi Capitals or Mumbai Indians depending on the result of the MI vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru game on Tuesday.
