Fulmali’s power-hitting show buoys Giants ahead of Eliminator

Bharti Fulmali shines with a powerful 61-run blitz in Women's Premier League, proving her worth in Gujarat Giants' lineup.

Before Monday’s fixture in the Women’s Premier League, Bharti Fulmali was largely a peripheral presence in Gujarat Giants’ power-packed batting unit. With Beth Mooney, Harleen Deol, Ashleigh Gardner and Deandra Dottin shouldering a bulk of the run-scoring responsibility, Fulmali, in fact, had batted only once in GG’s previous three games and faced all of three deliveries at No. 7.

The batting position didn’t change against Mumbai Indians on Monday. But by striding in when GG was 70 for five in 10.5 overs in a chase of 180, Fulmali had the scope to show that she can pack a serious punch even in an utterly bleak situation.

The 30-year-old from Amravati in Maharashtra stepped up like never before at the Brabourne Stadium, hammering a 25-ball 61 that succeeded in sending MI into a state of collective panic. She couldn’t quite see it through to the end, resulting in a nine-run defeat for GG, but Fulmali’s unexpected blitzkrieg has certainly buoyed the team’s spirits going into Thursday’s Eliminator.

“Her role for us is very much a power-game finishing role. There have been some games where she has come in with only a little bit (of overs) to go. But the way it turned out today, she got an opportunity to bat for a while. She showed what she can do and the power she has,” Giants coach Michael Klinger told reporters.

Fulmali’s brush with spotlight on Monday evening is the sort of exposure that the WPL has been set up to offer. While the middle-order batter was not exactly an unknown commodity, her two T20I appearances for India came and went in 2019.

“It was not very easy for her to handle things after being dropped by India,” her coach Sandeep Gawande told The Hindu. “She has been performing well for Vidarbha, but she hasn’t got a chance for India after that. She played only two matches against England. She didn’t perform then, but was immediately dropped.”

Even the WPL franchises didn’t embrace her initially. She was overlooked in 2023, and was only drafted into the GG squad as a replacement in 2024 once Harleen was injured three games into the campaign. Despite ending last season with a 36-ball 42, she wasn’t in the playing eleven at the start of this season.