All-round Kerr, Harmanpreet guide MI to five-wicket win over Gujarat Giants in WPL
Bengaluru, Feb 25: Amelia Kerr came up with a splendid all-round effort to assist Mumbai Indians seal a five-wicket win over Gujarat Giants in a Women's Premier League match here on Sunday.
Kerr first made a strong impression with her leg-spin, grabbing four for 17 that helped defending champions Mumbai limit Gujarat Giants to an under-par 126 for nine.
The New Zealand player followed that effort with a 31 off 25 balls as Mumbai overhauled the target in 18.1 overs after getting reduced to 21 for two in the fourth over.
Kerr received excellent support from skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (46 not out, 41 b, 5x4, 1x6)) as the pair made 66 runs for the fourth wicket as MI registered their second successive win in the tournament.
Nat-Sciver Brunt (22, 18 balls) too played a good hand and her scoops behind the wicketkeeper for fours off pacer Leah Tahuhu were epitome of innovation and timing.
But Brunt was run out as MI were in a spot of bother at 49 for three. However, Kerr and Harmanpreet displayed excellent game-awareness to bail their team out.
With a paltry target in front, both Kerr and Harmanpreet did not have to show any unnecessary urgency.
They kept the board moving with singles and twos, while hammering those occasional boundaries. Harmanpreet sliced Katherine Bryce past point for a classy four, while Kerr lapped Tahuhu over stumper Beth Mooney's head for a four.
However, Kerr did not last till the final lap as another attempt to play a scoop off Tahuhu saw her getting trapped in front of the wicket.
But by then she had done the job.
Earlier, Kerr and veteran pacer Shabnam Ismail (3/18) clamped down Giants with fine spells.
Ismail, who has retired from international cricket, showed that her fire had not dwindled while opening Mumbai's bowling in the Power Play segment, dismissing Veda Krishnamurthy and Harleen Deol.
Both Veda and Deol were trapped in front of the wicket with deliveries that swung back into them at a fair clip.
Pacer Brunt jettisoned Phoebe Litchfield in the sixth over as the Giants ended the Power Play at 43 for three.
But their innings nosedived further from there as Giants failed to find a boundary in the next 44 balls, and to add to their woes, they also lost wickets at regular intervals.
Skipper and opener Mooney, who survived the initial flurry of wickets, looked to get into some sort of rhythm but her attempt to reverse-lap Ismail ended in the hands of Yastika Bhatia behind the wickets.
At 58 for five in 11 overs, the Giants were always facing an uphill climb as Mumbai bowlers tightened their grip.
Kerr further complicated their troubles, dismissing Ashleigh Gardner and Sneh Rana in the space of two balls in the 14th over as Gujarat struggled for momentum and runs.
They added a touch of respectability to the total because of the eighth-wicket alliance between Bryce (25 not out) and Kanwar (28) worth 48 runs, the biggest in Gujarat innings.
But it was way too insufficient on the night.
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Karnataka BJP MLA caught taking Rs 5 lakh bribe remanded to judicial custody
Bengaluru (PTI): BJP MLA Dr Chandru Lamani, caught allegedly accepting a Rs 5 lakh bribe from a contractor, has been remanded to judicial custody until March 3.
The Shirahatti MLA, a doctor, was brought from Gadag to Bengaluru on Saturday night and produced before a Special Court for Public Representatives, sources said.
The court remanded him to custody until March 3.
The MLA was caught in a Lokayukta trap following a complaint by Vijay Pujar, a Class-1 contractor from Chinchali in Gadag district.
Lokayukta officials said the alleged bribe was linked to Minor Irrigation Department works, including the construction of retaining walls along a road. The accused had demanded Rs 11 lakh from the complainant to execute the project, and Rs 5 lakh was accepted during the trap.
Along with Lamani, his personal assistants, Manjunath Valmiki and Guru Naik, were also arrested in connection with the case.
