WPL 2023: Kiran Navgire pays tribute to MS Dhoni; writes ‘MSD 07’ on her sponsorless bat

UP Warriorz (UPW) all-rounder player Kiran Prabhu Navgire on Sunday smashed a half-century against Gujarat Giants (GG) during the match at Dr. DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai. In the Women's Premier league (WPL) tournament, Navgire’s willow didn’t have any sponsor labels, so she herself wrote ‘MSD 07’ on it and commentators pointed that out on air. Navgire is the only Indian (male or female) to score over 150 in a T20 match.


Netizens on Twitter appreciated the cricketer after knowing about her bat and her tribute to MS Dhoni.


"
I only ever wanted to play cricket because I dreamt of hitting sixes like Dhoni ," said Navgire.


In chase of 170 runs, UPW was off to a nightmarish start as Australia's all-rounder ran through the top order, dismissing skipper Alyssa Healy (7), Indian U19 sensation Shweta Sehrawat (5) and world's number one T20I batter Tahlia McGrath (0) cheaply.

UP was reduced to 20/3 in three overs.

Kiran Navgire and Deepti Sharma helped UP move through the remainder of the powerplay without any further damage. At the end of the powerplay in six overs, UP was at 35/3, with Kiran Navgire (19*) and Deepti Sharma (0*) unbeaten.

Navgire was looking in good touch and hit some delightful shots. Deepti was the anchor of the partnership. UP reached the 50-run mark in 7.5 overs.

Kiran brought up her half-century in 40 balls, consisting of five fours and two sixes.

Half-centuries from Navgire and Grace Harris helped UP Warriorz clinch a hard-fought last-over three-wicket win over Gujarat Giants

She has many records, one of her set records is for the highest individual score in the Women's Senior T20 Trophy while scoring an unbeaten 162 for Nagaland against Arunachal Pradesh in 2022.

The right-handed cricketer began her domestic career with Maharashtra in the 2018–19 Senior Women's One Day League. She later decided to play for Nagaland as a guest player in the 2021-22 Women's Senior T20 Trophy as she could not get enough chances in Maharashtra team.