tonight match 6 Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 A rare tactical maneuver seen at DY Patil Stadium gujarat giants faced with Mumbai Indians. Whereas the match already witnessed a lot of drama due to the absence of stars. Nat Sciver-BruntMid-innings strategic call involving a debutant Ayushi Soni Became the major talking point of the evening.
WPL 2026, MI-W vs GG-W: Reason behind Ayushi Soni ‘retiring out’
In a bold and rare tactical move, the Giants decided to “retire out” their debutant batsman Ayushi Soni during the 16th over. After being brought into the team to replace the injured Anushka SharmaSoni found it difficult to find his rhythm against the disciplined bowling attack of Mumbai Indians. While he helped steady the ship Georgia WarehamHer scoring rate had dropped, and she was sitting at 11 runs off 15 balls when the call came. With the run rate rising and only a few overs remaining, the Giants management opted to withdraw Soni to bring more aggression. Bharti Fulmali. This ‘retired out’ dismissal, different from ‘retired hurt’ as the player cannot return to the crease, was a deliberate attempt to maximize the death overs and push towards a competitive total.
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Ayushi’s decision to retire has sparked immediate debate as she has actually become the first player in WPL history to strategically ‘retire out’. While this move has been seen in other T20 leagues, most famously Ravichandran Ashwin In IPLit was never used Women’s Premier League until tonight.
On her WPL debut, Gujarat Giants’ Ayushi Soni became the first player in WPL history to retire#WPL2026#GGVSMI
– Ayush Kataria (@AKTalksSports) 13 January 2026
Ayushi Soni’s decision to retire proved to be a masterstroke, as she became First player in WPL history To strategically ‘retire out’. The gambit paid off almost immediately via the explosive cameo of Bharti Fulmaliwho came in and hit hard 36 runs on just 15 ballsWhich also includes three skyscraper sixes. Fulmali’s aggression, combined with Georgia WarehamConsecutive unbeaten innings of 43 runs took the Giants to a mammoth score of 192/5
This milestone marks a significant shift in the tactical maturity of the WPL, showing that teams are now willing to employ aggressive, data-driven strategies even with young debutants. By sacrificing the wicket of Soni, the Giants managed to score 49 runs in the last four overs, turning a potentially poor score into a win.
This article was first published here WomenCricket.comA Cricket Times Company.