Bharti Fulmali's knock cost MI a direct entry to the final spot in WPL 2025.
Though Mumbai Indians (MI) survived the onslaught by Gujarat Giants’ (GG) Bharti Fulmali, the batter singlehandedly stopped the franchise’s heartbeat, giving them a mighty scare at the Brabourne Stadium on March 10.
Fulmali got her chance last year when she was roped in as a replacement for Harleen Deol in the middle of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024 season.
It wasn’t an impressive outing as she scored only 64 runs in three games at a strike rate of 120.75. However, the middle-order batter has proven her worth this season. Donning the orange jersey, Fulmali has most likely secured a spot with the franchise for the coming years.
Let’s rewind the penultimate league-stage clash of the ongoing WPL 2025 between two of the top three teams.
A win was crucial for MI as they were looking to end the league stage at the number one position to skip the eliminator. GG, on the other hand, were also qualified for the playoffs but couldn’t reach the top position irrespective of the result that night. Ashleigh Gardner won the toss and elected to field first. Harmanpreet and Co. put up a challenging total of 179/6.
Gujarat were off to a slow start while batting in the second innings. The wickets fell like dominoes. Harleen Deol (24) and Phoebe Litchfield (22) tried to stitch partnerships albeit failing at the task. Deandra Dottin’s presence at the crease may have assured the Giants but Fulmali was the real hero. Rising from the ashes at the No.7 position, Fulmali slammed 61 runs in 25 deliveries. Her onslaught included eight boundaries and four sixes, her strike rate at a whopping 244.
Fulmali started her knock with a couple of dot balls. A boundary off Nat Sciver-Brunt must’ve eased some pressure. After Dottin (10) departed, the only monologue in Fulmali’s head was the words of the coach who asked her to focus on strike rotation with Simran Shaikh. The duo put up 50 runs for the seventh wicket out of which Fulmali’s contributions was 46 runs.
After a couple more dot balls, Fulmali unleashed the beast inside her by smashing the ball all around the park. Her favourite one to dazzle against? Outside off. However, Amelia Kerr used that same delivery to deceive Fulmali and G Kamalini made no mistake at short third to take the catch.
Though the Giants were far from a win, Fulmali must have felt immense pride when the entire dugout stood up and applauded her efforts.
Luckily for us, Fulmali’s powerful knock against MI wasn’t her only high-impact knock. GG faced Delhi Capitals (DC) twice in the league stage. Overall, both matches followed a similar flow with GG failing to put up a commendable total and Meg Lanning’s team chasing it down with ease. In both games, Fulmali was the top scorer for her side. Her knocks were the only time her team looked in control. Had it not been for Fulmali, Gardner’s team would have probably failed to reach the triple-figure mark. Fulmali’s impact was unmatched with 40* (29) in Bengaluru followed by 42 (36) in Delhi.
Previously, she has represented Vidarbha for the Senior Women’s T20 League. In a 2016 clash against Tripura, Fulmali yet again showed her class with an unbeaten knock of 54.
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Fulmali’s cricketing journey began at the age of 13 and over the years, she has built a reputation for her fearless and aggressive approach to the game.
During the England Women’s tour of India in 2018-19, Fulmali alongside Deol replaced Priya Punia and D Hemalatha in the squad.
Both Deol and Fulmali earned their T20I debuts in the same series, with Fulmali featuring in the second and third games. However, she managed to score only 23 runs across her appearances.
Despite a modest start on the international stage, Fulmali continues to be a promising cricketer at No.5 or 6 positions. With the upcoming WPL Eliminator against Mumbai Indians on March 13, Fulmali has the license to play her natural game and hit humongous sixes from the word go. She will look to replicate her blitzkrieg from a few nights ago.
The winner of the Eliminator match at Brabourne Stadium will face Delhi Capitals in the final on March 15 at the same venue.
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