WPL 2023: Harmanpreet Kaur hails team’s maturity

MI skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (trophy in hand) celebrates winning the WPL with teammates at Brabourne on Sunday. Pic/Ashish Raje

The captaincy rivalry among India's Harmanpreet Kaur and Australian Meg Lanning was a battle within the battle for Women's Premier League supremacy.

Though World Cup-winning Lanning has dominated Harmanpreet in ICC tournaments, Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Harmanpreet outclassed the Lanning-led Delhi Capitals by seven wickets to win the inaugural WPL final at the Brabourne Stadium on Sunday.

Harmanpreet revealed how she scored over Lanning this time and proved herself en route to MI attaining glory.

"It's [WPL triumph] quite important. We have seen Lanning doing so well for her country for so many years. But it was a different scenario here and the teams were different. For me, it was important to get everybody together and make them understand why they are here and what they can do best for the team. Everybody was so mature," said Harmanpreet at the post-match press conference when mid-day asked her how she managed to beat Lanning's team in the decider.

She was quick to point out that the players always understood what the seniors and support staff were talking about along the way.

Also read: 'Was waiting to win something as a captain': Harmanpreet Kaur on MI's WPL triumph

Riding on Nat Sciver-Brunt (60 not out), Harmanpreet's 37 and their match-winning 72-run third wicket partnership, MI chased down DC's 131-9 with three balls to spare. For Harmanpreet, it was a memorable evening. "I was waiting for this moment for a long time - when I could win something as a captain. It is also very important for women's cricket," Harmanpreet remarked.

The MI captain lavished praise on DC's Radha Yadav [12-ball 27 not out] and Shikha Pandey [17-ball 27 not out], who added 52 runs in just 24 balls for the last wicket and made the final more interesting.

"I was very happy the way they [Pandey and Yadav] were batting. I've always told Radha that you don't need to take singles because singles jiska kaam hai woh le lega [leave it to others to take singles]. I was actually happy when she hit those sixes towards the end. After the match I spoke to her and said I want to see the same [kind of] batting when you join the Indian team. Shikha bowled brilliantly throughout the tournament. And today [Sunday] when the team needed [her] batting, she took time and executed things brilliantly," Harmanpreet added.