Mumbai Indians clinched a thrilling victory against Gujarat Giants in a high-intensity contest on Tuesday night in TATA WPL 2026. Speaking on JioHotstar’s ‘Match Centre Live’, JioStar experts Katey Martin and Saba Karim heaped praise on Harmanpreet Kaur’s masterclass in a pressure chase.
Speaking on Match Centre Live, JioStar expert Katey Martin commented on Harmanpreet Kaur’s performance:
“I think Harmanpreet never wants to leave this ground. She turned up here on the first day with a massive smile on her face. Before that, she had taken the World Cup home as well, and she just continues on. She’s getting herself into a really nice position. She commits to her strengths, but the way she paces her inning is so crucial. She started off slowly — 8 off 8, looked for her match-up, which was Ashleigh Gardner, and she went after her. When you see shots like her drives over extra cover and then over mid-wicket, you wonder how someone can hit all around the ground with such incredible power and precision. You want your best player to stand up in chases, especially in a side that also relies heavily on Nat Sciver-Brunt, who tops the charts for most fifties. Many of those have come in winning chases because she controls an innings so well. Harmanpreet showed that same intent in this game, that desire to win, and she did exactly that.”
On Amanjot Kaur’s partnership with Harmanpreet:
“Amanjot is a real live wire. She’s a competitor, someone who always wants to be in the fight. We’ve seen her do it so often for India, winning games from different situations. It was a different role for her, batting up at number three in this game. She understood the situation perfectly, identified the biggest threat, and then expanded her game. Around the ninth over, when they went for back-to-back big overs, that was the momentum shift. In T20 cricket, momentum shifts are everything. The powerplay wasn’t as strong as they would have liked, but she recognised her match-up and took the game back to the bowlers. That took pressure off Harmanpreet Kaur in the chase and allowed her to finish the job calmly.”
Speaking on Match Centre Live, JioStar expert Saba Karim also dissected Harmanpreet Kaur’s performance:
“It’s always a pleasure to watch Harmanpreet bat like this. The secret to her success, longevity, and consistency is her ability to adapt very quickly. That adaptability comes from two things; her awareness of the match situation and her ability to assess conditions early. She’s such a reliable batter because she plays the field so well. It’s not easy to set a field for her. She exploits the off side with ease and is equally strong on the leg side. That’s why she’s such a competent batter, especially in run chases like this. She has that rare ability to coil and uncoil at the right moment. Her massive backlift and the arc of her downswing make it extremely difficult for bowlers to contain her. While the innings wasn’t entirely flawless, she did offer a few chances — a batter of her quality will look to rectify that going forward. Having said that, her batting remains so lucid. She finds gaps with ease, whether against pace or spin. Her ability to read the game and finish matches is exceptional. Her WPL record speaks for itself; over 1,000 runs batting at number four, along with eight or nine fifties, shows the immense value and impact of her innings every time she walks out to bat.”
