Vadodara, Feb 19 (NationPress) Gujarat Giants head coach Michael Klinger acknowledged that tactical mistakes contributed to his team's defeat against Mumbai Indians in the WPL 2025. Nevertheless, he praised the bowlers for keeping the match competitive for a considerable period.

The Harmanpreet Kaur-led MI exhibited an impressive performance on the field, achieving a straightforward five-wicket victory on Tuesday, thereby extending their unbeaten streak against Gujarat Giants (GG) to five wins out of five.

The talented trio of Hayley Matthews (3-16), Amelia Kerr (2-22), and Natalie Sciver-Brunt (2-26) ensured that Mumbai only needed to chase down 121 for victory. MI's bowlers delivered an outstanding display, leaving GG in a precarious position at 28/4 by the end of the powerplay.

"The powerplay didn’t unfold as we had anticipated, did it? Losing four wickets, especially Ash on the last ball of the powerplay, makes it extremely challenging to recover. We do have depth in our batting lineup, so we performed decently to reach 120 from that point. However, a couple of substantial partnerships could have made a significant difference, potentially getting us to 140-145, which might have kept us in the game," Klinger stated during the post-match press conference.

The MI run-chase experienced some bumps along the way after a solid start, with Hayley departing for 17 in the fourth over, leaving MI at 37/1 during the powerplay. Subsequently, Priya Mishra took her first wicket in her opening over by dismissing Yastika Bhatia.

A crucial wicket followed in the next over when Harmanpreet (4) was trapped lbw by Kashvee Gautam, reducing MI to 55/3 after eight overs. However, this was insufficient for GG to clinch victory, as Sciver-Brunt's 57 guided MI to a comfortable win with 3.5 overs remaining.

"As you can see, defending any score is challenging, especially when it's only 120. The conditions get quite damp, making fielding and bowling more difficult. Yet, I believe our bowlers did an excellent job of giving us a glimmer of hope with about six or seven overs to spare.

"Defending a target of 120 is tough. It wasn’t just a mindset issue, but more about tactical strategies—perhaps they could have targeted different areas or focused on the shorter boundary. From a mindset perspective, we are pleased with their aggressive approach, but we can certainly improve tactically next time," he added.

The match in Vadodara marked the conclusion of the Gujarat Giants' home leg. With just one win from three matches, they are set to travel to Bengaluru for the next phase of the tournament in hopes of turning their fortunes around.

"I would have preferred to leave here with two wins from three games, especially after winning the last match. It would have been wonderful to win again in front of our home crowd before heading to Bangalore. However, we go there with one win, which is certainly an improvement compared to this time last year.

"All it takes is a couple of consecutive victories to propel us back into contention. We will learn from tonight's match, no doubt. We have six days off to regroup for the Bangalore leg, and we are looking forward to that," concluded Klinger.