3 similarities between men's and women's team of Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians (MI) couldn't have asked for a better start to their Women's Premier League (WPL) journey. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side thumped the Gujarat Giants (GG) by 143 runs in the opening game of the tournament.
Right from the get-go, Mumbai seemed to be bang on the money as they didn't let the opposition settle into any kind of rhythm, with the bat or with the ball.
After just one game, fans have been thrilled with MI's brand of cricket. They have also noticed a number of similarities between this Mumbai Indians team and the one that plays in the IPL. Let's take a look at three such similarities.
#1 Fearsome strikers of the ball
When Pollard retired, Hayley Matthews came for Mumbai Indians.
West Indies love story continues in Mumbai.
West Indies skipper Hayley Matthews was picked up by the Mumbai Indians for just ₹40 lahks in the WPL 2023 auction. Many thought that this is a proper steal and it has proven to be the case so far as she scored a quickfire 47 in the opening game.
MI's men's team have had many big hitters over the years, especially from the Caribbean, like Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Smith, and Lendl Simmons.
Hayley Matthews' addition shows just how much Mumbai loves the Caribbean flair. She is the only West Indian player in the WPL and will look to be prolific for the Mumbai-based side at the top of the order.
#2 Presence of quality all-rounders
Mumbai Indians picks great All-rounders - Harmanpreet, Sciver, Kerr & Pooja Vastrakar.
All-rounders are crucial to any T20 team and this has been one factor that Mumbai Indians have always focused on while building their teams, be it in the IPL or in the WPL.
The likes of Kieron Pollard and the Pandya brothers, as well as the latest sensations Tim David and Cameron Green, have given a different look to their side.
The same tactic was applied at the WPL auction too as Mumbai went hard for overseas all-rounders like Nat Sciver-Brunt, Amelia Kerr, Hayley Matthews, and Chloe Tryon.
They have also added some quality Indian all-rounders in Amanjot Kaur and Pooja Vastrakar. This gives the captain a number of bowling options as well as depth in their batting.
#3 Current India captain leading Mumbai Indians
I will try to follow Rohit Sharma's legacy as a captain..🥺🔥💙
:~ Harmanpreet kaur
@ImRo45 || @ImHarmanpreet
#MumbaiIndians || #WPL2023 https://t.co/sJOL2Cyd36
Arguably what was most prominently noticed by fans was that both the Mumbai Indians teams are led by current India captains. Rohit Sharma is the captain of the Indian men's team and Harmanpreet Kaur has the same responsibility for the women's side. Now, both are the leaders of the Mumbai team in their respective leagues also.
Harmanpreet has been quite vocal about how she wishes to achieve success with MI just like Rohit did in the IPL, by winning the title five times. She seemed to have begun in the best possible way, winning the Player of the Match award in the first game for her fantastic knock of 65.
Just as Rohit did a few years ago, Harmanpreet is playing the role of the fulcrum of the Mumbai Indians middle-order at No. 4. She will be keen to keep delivering when her team needs her the most and take MI to the first WPL title.