March 11, 2025: Former Indian captain Mithali Raj shared her insights on the recent Women’s Premier League (WPL) match between Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Giants. The game, which took place on the 19th of WPL 2025, saw Mumbai Indians emerging victorious by nine runs, with Mumbai captain Harmanpreet Kaur receiving the Player of the Match award for her brilliant fifty.
In her analysis, Mithali Raj highlighted the outstanding performances of Bharti Fulmali and Simran Shaikh, who played key roles in keeping Gujarat Giants in the game. Raj lauded Fulmali for her incredible fifty, which brought Gujarat back into the contest, and also praised Simran Shaikh for her crucial contributions with a couple of big hits, taking the game deep and helping Gujarat get closer to the target.
“I think credit goes to Bharti Fulmali for bringing the Gujarat Giants back into the game with how she played her shots, timing them beautifully. Earlier, she was a one-dimensional player who primarily scored runs on the on-side. But today, we saw her hitting sixes straight over the bowler’s head and finding boundaries square of the wicket. She has improved, and I believe her experience in the Women’s Premier League has helped her develop and expand her skill set. We also saw Simran Shaikh contribute with a couple of big hits, taking the game deep and getting the Gujarat Giants closer. Both of them played well,” Mithali Raj said during her interview with Jio Hotstar.
While Raj praised Gujarat’s batting effort, she also commented on the performance of Mumbai Indians, acknowledging their brilliant experience but noting some critical errors in the field. Raj pointed out the dropped catches and missed fielding opportunities that allowed Gujarat’s batters to steal extra runs, which could have potentially shifted the game in Gujarat’s favor.
“There were dropped catches, which you rarely see from Mumbai Indians. There was a lot of chaos on the field—missed run-outs, Gujarat Giants’ batters managing to steal extra runs—so there was plenty of action from both sides. For a team like Mumbai Indians, with such experienced players, you wouldn’t expect these errors. But in the end, it was all part of the entertainment for us,” Raj reflected.
As the WPL 2025 season progresses, Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Giants sit second and third on the points table. Mumbai has one match left against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Tuesday. A victory in this match will secure Mumbai a direct qualification for the WPL finals, making their next encounter crucial.
The match between Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Giants provided a thrilling spectacle, highlighting the depth of talent in the Women’s Premier League and showcasing the exciting future of women’s cricket.