No Aussies, no problem for Harmanpreet Kaur's Mumbai

Gujarat Giants have a trio of Australian players but they were well beaten in the WPL by a Mumbai Indians team without anyone from the T20 World Cup winners.

MEG LANNING.
MEG LANNING. Picture: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

The Mumbai Indians have continued their imperious Aussie-free progress through the Women's Premier League group stage, winning their fifth match in five with a crushing 55 -run victory over Gujarat Giants.

Indians racked up 8-162 with Harmanpreet Kaur making 51 in 30 balls, then restricted Giants to 9-107.

One of the oddities of the WPL is that the three leading run scorers are all Australian: Meg Lanning, Ellyse Perry and Alyssa Healy, but none of them play for Indians.

Indeed, the only member of the all-conquering Australian team in the Mumbai squad is Heather Graham, and she is yet to play a match for them.

Giants had an Australian coach in Rachel Haynes and a trio of Aussies in the XI: Ash Gardner, Annabel Sutherland and Kim Garth. It would have been four but for Beth Mooney being ruled out of the tournament with injury.

The three took a collective 4-107 off their 12 overs and scored 16 runs between them.

Giants, who have one win in their five matches, began well with Gardner dismissing Indians' star bat Hayley Matthews for a third-ball duck.

She finished with a creditable 3-34 from her four overs and Garth 1-31, but Sutherland was harshly dealt with, her quota going for 42 without reward.

When they batted Giants lost Sophia Dunkley, lbw to England teammate Nat Sciver-Brunt, first ball, and things did not improve much thereafter. Sutherland went for a duck and Gardner and Garth for eight apiece. Harleen Deol top-scored with 22.

Sciver-Brunt followed up her 31-ball 36 with 3-21 as Indians, again benefiting from home advantage with the tournament staged in Mumbai, cruised to victory becoming the first team to book a place in the finals.