WPL 2025: Mumbai Indians seal the deal with a gritty 8-run win

Mumbai Indians clinch second Women’s Premier League title as Delhi Capitals finish at 141-9 during 150-run chase; skipper Harmanpreet Kaur dazzles with 66 off 44 balls

When the chips were down, Harmanpreet Kaur rose to the occasion to lead Mumbai Indians to their second Women’s Premier League (WPL) title at the Brabourne Stadium on Saturday.

Thanks to Player of the Final Kaur’s brilliant 66 (44b, 9x4, 2x6) and the 89-run third-wicket stand with Natalie Sciver-Brunt (30, 28b, 4x4), and later by their medium-pacers Shabnim Ismail (1-15), Sciver-Brunt (3-30) and leg-spinner Amelia Kerr (2-25), Mumbai Indians defeated Delhi Capitals by eight runs to regain the crown.
In front of the packed house and some of the MI Indian Premier League team members on Saturday evening, MI posted the highest total of the three WPL finals, 149-7. Later, they contained DC to 141-9. 

MI’s Amelia Kerr (left) takes a catch to dismiss DC’s Jemimah Rodrigues at Brabourne Stadium on Saturday. Pic/AFP

Only Mumbaikar Jemimah Rodrigues (30) looked like waging a battle for DC before being brilliantly caught and bowled by leg-spinner Amelia Kerr, who ran more than half the length of the pitch to take the leading edge. With Rodrigues’ dismissal at 66-5 in the 11th over, the match was all but decided in MI’s favour.

Nat dismisses Kapp

There was a threat to MI’s victory with Marizanne Kapp hitting boundaries easily to bring down the required run-rate in the company of Niki Prasad (25 not out). However, with Kapp lofting Sciver-Brunt to long-off for 40 in the 18th over, any last hopes DC had, vanished.

When DC captain Meg Lanning opted to bowl on winning the toss, she surprisingly went against what history showed in the previous three matches at this venue in the week gone by; perhaps concerned about dew.

As it turned out, the team batting first won the match yet again with MI providing sheer joy to their home fans.

DC’s new-ball operators Kapp of South Africa and India’s Shikha Pandey gave their team a dream start, not erring in line and bowling to the set fields that MI openers Yastika Bhatia and Hayley Matthews found difficult to penetrate. 

Denied scoring opportunities, Matthews was cramped for space and was bowled by a Kapp slower one that also kept low. The 35-year-old Kapp bowled her quota of four overs straight up, finishing with two for 11. MI’s first boundary came in the fifth over when a rare loose delivery from Kapp outside the off-stump was driven over extra cover by the left-handed Bhatia. But Kapp was quick to rectify and the next delivery, bowled around the off-stump that Bhatia ended up driving into cover fielder Jemimah Rodrigues’ hands.

Mumbai in early trouble

With the first two wickets down for only 14 and a Powerplay score of 20-2, the fourth lowest in WPL history, MI depended on the seasoned Sciver-Brunt, who became the first player in WPL history to reach 1,000 runs when she was on three and captain Kaur to take them to a defendable total.

Sciver-Brunt and Kaur began to play attacking shots against left- left-arm spinners Sree Charani and Jess Jonassen and boundaries began to flow easily. The momentum began to shift towards MI. The precision with which Kaur waited to pick the gaps and play her shots was remarkable. Kaur was so brilliant that Sciver-Brunt was happy to play the supporting role.

However, Charani broke the third-wicket partnership when Sciver-Brunt half-heartedly slog-swept to Minnu Mani at square-leg in the 15th over. Two more wickets fell in the next over by Jonassen. MI lost three wickets for nine runs in seven deliveries. With pressure mounting to add more runs, a tired-looking Kaur holed out to deep extra-cover for Kapp to hold on to the offering.

Though DC had a better Powerplay score, 37-2, they lost wickets at regular intervals. Their experienced and strong top-order succumbed to the pressure of chasing the challenging target.

Brief scores
Mumbai Indians 149-7 in 20 overs (H Kaur 66, N Brunt 30; M Kapp 2-11, J Jonassen 2-26, S Charani 2-43) beat Delhi Capitals 141-9 in 20 overs (M Kapp 40, J Rodrigues 30; N Sciver-Brunt 3-30, A Kerr 2-25) by eight runs

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