Amelia Kerr came up with a splendid all-round effort to help Mumbai Indians seal a five-wicket win over Gujarat Giants in a Women's Premier League match here on Sunday.
Kerr first made a strong impression with her leg-spin, grabbing 4/17 that helped defending champions Mumbai limit Gujarat to an under-par 126/9.
The New Zealand player followed that effort with a innings of 31 off 25 balls as Mumbai overhauled the target in 18.1 overs after getting reduced to 21/2 in the fourth over.
Kerr received excellent support from skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (46 not out off 41 balls) as the pair made 66 runs for the fourth wicket. Mumbai thus registered their second successive win in the tournament.
Nat-Sciver Brunt (22 off 18 balls) too played a good hand with her scoops behind the wicketkeeper for fours off pacer Leah Tahuhu being a spectacle of innovation. But Brunt was run out and Mumbai were in a spot of bother at 49/3. However, Kerr and Harmanpreet displayed excellent game-awareness to bail their team out.
With a paltry target in front, both Kerr and Harmanpreet did not have to show any unnecessary urgency.
They kept the scoreboard moving with singles and twos, while hammering occasional boundaries. Harmanpreet sliced Katherine Bryce past point for a classy four, while Kerr lapped Tahuhu over stumper Beth Mooney's head for a four.
Earlier, Kerr and veteran South Africa pacer Shabnam Ismail (3/18) clamped down the Giants with fine spells.
Kathryn Bryce (25 not out) and Tanuja Kanwar (28) made a late charge with a stand of 48 runs for the eighth wicket, but even then it wasn't sufficient to challenge Mumbai.
Mumbai skipper Harmanpreet was all praise for her team. "We have a very balanced side, all the all-rounders are the best in their countries. She Our bowlers complement each other and that is a positive."
Kerr, the Player of the Match, said: "For me, it is about working out the conditions and going to variations. It came out well. We have match-winners and we are fortunate to have so many. Nice to see so many people step up at different times."
(With inputs from PTI)
