Beyond the headlines: Matthews' brilliance, Mishra's mistakes, & GG's (mis)fielding!

Beyond the headlines; MI v/s GG, WPL 2025 Eliminator

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Mar 13, 2025

MI beat GG by 47 runs. But, truthfully, GG beat themselves. Their bowling was confused, their fielding was pathetic, and they threw away wickets. So, MI are now 7-0 against GG. And in the WPL final.

But, what happened beyond the headlines?

Hayley Matthews was brilliantly aggressive tonight, GG’s powerplay bowling was actually pretty good, Priya Mishra encapsulated GG’s middle overs collapse, & GG’s (mis)fielding compounded all their problems.

Hayley Matthews paces MI’s aggressive batting

Written by Uma Mahesh. You can follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Hayley Matthews’ 77 (50) helped MI make the WPL final. Her innings, studded with ten 4s and three 6s, came at a strike rate of 154.

This knock was a continuation of her remarkable resurgence this season. After a slow start—managing just 32 runs in her first 3 matches (Ave: 10.7, SR: 103, 0 fifties)—Matthews found her rhythm, accumulating 195 runs in her last 5 innings (Ave: 39, SR: 123, 2 fifties).

Matthews’ innings was a tale of two halves. She started cautiously in the powerplay, scoring 16 off 18 balls while facing 11 dot balls, including a dropped catch when she was on 5. But once she settled in, Matthews shifted gears, accelerating through the middle overs. She struck 10 boundaries and cleared the ropes thrice, with 58% of her runs coming from boundaries. However, dot balls still made up 38% of her deliveries, underlining her ability to recover from a slow start and convert it into a match-defining knock.

A significant 49% of her total runs came through the square leg region - 31% square on the leg side and 18% behind square, signifying both her love of the pull and the poor GG bowling that catered to her favourite zones. 10% of her runs came toward long-on, showcasing her power game. Meanwhile, her off-side play was more calculated, with 14% of her runs placed square, as and when she could find the gaps.

Her strike rate against spin was an imposing 160.87, compared to a measured 100.00 against pace. More specifically, she struggled against pace-on deliveries (SR: 88.9) but thrived against pace-off bowling, striking at 141.2. This adaptability allowed her to dominate GG’s spinners while maintaining control against the pacers.

Against Tanuja Kanwar, Matthews had struggled historically, averaging just 10.3 with a strike rate of 100.0. But today, she took a more aggressive approach, scoring 14 off 9 balls, including a four and a six, signalling a change in mindset. Her real damage came against Priya Mishra, the slowest bowler in GG’s lineup, smashing 36 off just 14 balls with five fours and two sixes—accounting for nearly 47% of her total runs.

Matthews’ match-winning knock was a testament to her tactical awareness, power-hitting, and ability to accelerate at the right time. As MI head to a final against the all-conquering DC, her form could be a defining factor.

Data from Cricviz & the Jio broadcast.

GG actually started quite well

Written by Shayan Ahmad Khan. You can follow him on Twitter.

During the league phase, GG had an economy rate of 6.77 and picked up 14 wickets in the powerplay – number one on both the metrics. They were the best bowling side in the first 6 overs, and that trend continued today.

Despite the fact that Mumbai scored the joint third-highest WPL score of all time, GG conceded only 37/1 runs in the first 6 overs. And, they did this without Deandra Dottin, who got injured during the warmups. The pacer had bowled the most overs - and had the 2nd best average and strike rate - for GG during the powerplay.

Luckily, they had just played MI on Monday, so they could easily revamp their bowling order. Last time out, their first six overs were bowled by - Dottin, Kanwar, Kashvee, Dottin, Kanwar & Kashvee. Today, they went with - Kashvee, Gardner, Kashvee, Kanwar, Gibson, Kanwar. A deserved promotion for Gautam Kashvee, along with replacement overs from Ash Gardner & Danielle Gibson.

Gautam was GG’s best bowler tonight with figures of 30-1, including just 12 runs in two powerplay overs. She conceded 6 dots, and just 2 boundaries, helping to ramp up the early pressure successfully.

Ash Gardner bowled the second over, and she has an interesting record versus Hayley Matthews. Since WPL 2023, when the off-spinner dismissed Matthews twice, Gardner has not been able to get the better off the West Indian (59 runs off 39 balls in 3 T20Is, 10 off 17 in 3 WPL games). However, today, she conceded only one 4 and bowled 5 dots. The last 3 deliveries were all false shots – including a drop by Beth Mooney off the 5th ball of the over.

Tanuja Kanwar was another fascinating matchup versus Hayley Matthews. The GG left arm finger spinner has dismissed the MI opener twice in 4 innings, and conceded just 26 runs off 25 deliveries during the powerplay. In the powerplay tonight, Matthews made 6 off 6 against Kanwar, while Yastika Bhatia (Ave: 22 & SR: 132 vs Slow Left Arm Orthodox) and Nat Sciver-Brunt (0 dismissals vs SLAs) scored 10 runs combined off the remaining 6 deliveries.

GG’s other powerplay replacement for Dottin was last-minute selection Dani Gibson, who bowled the 5th over. Before this game, she had picked up 7 wickets in the powerplay in international cricket, the Hundred (first 25 balls of the innings) and the WBBL (overs 1 to 4 only) at an economy of 7.77 and a strike rate of 30. She got GG’s only wicket in the powerplay, of Bhatia, on her 2nd ball, and conceded just 5 runs.

GG lost the plot after the powerplay was up. After conceding 19 dots, seven 4s and zero extras in the first 6 overs, GG contrived to give up eleven 4s, one 6, and just 3 dots in the next 6 overs.

Damagingly, they gave up five 4s (plus 4 leg byes) in the 7th and 8th overs. The momentum had shifted, and GG’s best chance of beating MI went up in smoke.

Data from Cricmetric & ESPNcricinfo.

Mishra encapsulates GG’s forgotten lessons

Written by Krithika Venkatesan, who works as a talent scout with RCB. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

On Monday, Priya Mishra bowled 5 balls to Hayley Matthews, and got her out. Tonight, Mishra bowled 14 balls to Matthews, and got hit for 36 runs. What happened?

Priya Mishra's bowling revolves around simple variations. Until last year, her googly and slider were dominant weapons in the domestic circuit. While most spinners focused on turning the ball, Mishra kept things straightforward by targeting the stumps. This approach worked well, earning her an international call-up.

However, it took just a few games for Australia’s batters to understand her variations during last December’s series. In the 2nd ODI of the tour, Mishra went for 1/88. It affected her confidence so much that it ultimately cost her a spot in the Challenger Trophy playing XI. Even during the final of the U23 T20 Trophy this January, she was given only 1 over.

After the U23 T20 Trophy, Mishra worked more on personal skills, and tried to get that confidence back. She focused on varying her lengths while bowling the slider during the WPL camp before the season. In Vadodara, she effectively set up batters by adjusting her length, often deceiving them when they misread her slider as a leg break.

However, in today's match, Mishra should have relied more on her basics, sticking to a back-of-a-length approach - ideally around 7 to 8 meters - instead of going fuller or loopy.

In the last game against the same opponent at this venue, she bowled her first over to Hayley Matthews, delivering 4 of 6 balls at a back-of-a-length. She eventually dismissed Matthews with a well-executed slider outside off at that length.

However, today, Mishra bowled 14 deliveries to Matthews, conceding 36 runs. Of those, only five were back-of-a-length, and she conceded only 2 runs of those balls. Whenever Mishra bowled fuller or tossed it up, Matthews capitalised. Two of Matthews' three 6s in this match came off Mishra’s tossed-up deliveries.

Additionally, Matthews struck five 4s against Mishra. Three of them came on balls which were going down the leg side. In fact, 24 of the 36 runs Matthews scored off Mishra came on her favoured leg side. Given that she dismissed Matthews with a back-of-a-length slider just a few days ago, Mishra should have stuck to that approach tonight.

Moreover, Mishra’s tendency to start her spell with a googly - especially against new batters - has become predictable. While this worked well in domestic cricket and early in her international career, opponents are now picking up on her variations with ease.

To stay ahead, she must understand these match-ups better, and adapt based on the conditions.

GG’s fielding errors compounded their poor bowling

Written by Ritwika Dhar. You can follow her on Twitter.

With the Brabourne’s good batting track and a fast outfield, fielding can be a deciding factor between victory and defeat. MI proved it earlier this week, dropping 8 catches over 2 matches - losing to RCB and nearly losing to GG.

Nat Sciver-Brunt (416 runs) and Hayley Matthews (227 runs) were MI’s top two run-scorers in the group stage, contributing 54.26% of the team’s total runs. GG needed to dismiss these them to force MI’s underplayed middle order to set a total. Instead, Ash Gardner’s team contrived to give them endless opportunities.

GG dropped 4 catches - two of Matthews and one each of Sciver-Brunt and Harmanpreet Kaur. In the 2nd over, keeper Beth Mooney put down a thick edge off Matthews when she was on just 5, and Gardner herself spilt another relatively easy chance at long-on when Matthews was on 56. The West Indian took full advantage, putting up a personal WPL record of 77 (50).

Sciver-Brunt’s dropping was less painful, as she perished two balls later in the 19th over after scoring 77 off 41. But, considering she combined with Matthews to put 133 runs (or 72.3% of MI’s total tonight) off just 71 balls, getting rid of the West Indian might have put more pressure on Sciver-Brunt earlier.

However, the most damaging drop came in the 17th over when Priya Mishra couldn’t hold on to Harmanpreet Kaur’s shot at mid on, while she was still on 1 (2). The MI skipper would score a game-changing 36 off 12, including two 4s and four 6s.

In addition to dropped catches, GG’s ground fielding was abysmal. They conceded at least 7 misfields, including two by Simran Shaikh at the off-side boundary resulting in fours (on 8.2 and 11.2). Additional misfields came from Gibson (7.3) at the boundary, Gautam (9.5) at backward point, and Mooney (17.3) all lead to 4s as well. At 14.6, after being dropped on the previous ball, Matthews even offered a run-out opportunity, but a direct hit from Shaikh - GG’s most error-prone fielder tonight - could have sent her back.

MI showed how more proactive fielding - including a season high 3 run outs in an innings - could change the game. Sanskriti Gupta’s quick throw to dismiss Harleen Deol is a perfect example of the kind of fielding that not only got an important wicket, but made GG’s batters think about that quick second run all night.

Despite a slippery outfield in the 2nd innings, MI only conceded two misfields, by Kamalini and Sanskriti Gupta at the boundary after the match was all but settled. They didn’t drop a catch or miss a run out/stumping opportunity all night. Not to pick on Mooney, but she missed both for GG tonight.

In the end, MI won by 47 runs, but it’s hard to say the run rate pressure didn’t force GG’s batters into riskier play all innings long. The dropped catches and misfields let MI run away to an uncatchable 213, when GG probably could’ve made this a closer game with 20-odd runs less to chase.