"What does not kill us will make us stronger, ladies, I promise you" - MI head coach Charlotte Edwards after WPL elimination
The Mumbai Indians' (MI) WPL title defence ended with a five-run defeat to the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Friday, March 15. The Smriti Mandhana-led side turned the contest out of nowhere to win the WPL 2024 Eliminator contest and make it to the finals for the very first time.
MI had finished in the second place at the end of the league stage with 10 points to their name, two short of league leaders Delhi Capitals (DC). The defending champions lacked the air of invincibility they were equipped with last season and their campaign came to an underwhelming end with consecutive defeats to RCB.
In the Eliminator, MI were tasked with chasing down 136 runs in the second innings, and needed only 20 runs off the last three overs to qualify for their second straight final. However, three tight overs from RCB spinners, where the chasing side could not get a single boundary away, led to their defeat.
Following the defeat, team head coach Charlotte Edwards spoke in the dressing room to lift the crestfallen squad.
"I just want to say, look, I know everyone is gutted. I am gutted because I think we were really close. It will hurt, it will hurt for a few weeks, probably until we meet again, but we will be stronger because of this experience. We will be better, and I am absolutely certain of that," Charlotte Edwards said in the huddle.
"A personal thank you to Harman [Harmanpreet Kaur], for obviously leading the team brilliantly throughout this whole tournament and to all the support staff. No one sees what goes on behind the scenes. Thank you so much for your hard work. What does not kill us will make us stronger, ladies, I promise you," she added.
The franchise undoubtedly had their moments in the second season. S Sajana's last-ball six in the season opener and Harmanpreet Kaur's brilliant innings in the record run chase against the Gujarat Giants particularly stood out in that regard.
"In 12 balls, we needed just one boundary, we could not get that" - MI skipper Harmanpreet Kaur
Shreyanka Patil's 18th over on Friday that yielded only four runs and Harmanpreet Kaur's wicket was arguably the turning point of the contest. Sophie Molineux and Asha Sobhana piled on the pressure by not giving the opposition batters any pace to work with.
Amelia Kerr, S Sajana, and Pooja Vastrakar all tried to go for boundaries, but could not find a decent connection or power behind the shot to make it happen.
"We bowled really well, we restricted them to under 140. batting was also good but the last 12 balls we did not bat well. In the 12 balls, we needed just one boundary, we could not be able to get that. This game always teaches you and puts you under pressure, you need to learn from it. When we lost my wicket, our batters could not hold their nerve, that was the turning point," Harmanpreet Kaur said during the post-match presentation.
The WPL 2024 final is scheduled to take place on Sunday, March 17, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi between DC and RCB.