Gujarat Giants chose the night they needed it the most to set the record straight.

Eight straight defeats, nearly four seasons of frustration, and a near-similar Mumbai Indians side that had always found ways to get the better of GG. But none of the history mattered once the Giants defended 167 in a must-win game, beating Mumbai Indians for the first time in WPL history to book their place in the Eliminator for a second year running. As head coach Michael Klinger later put it, winning "one where it really counts to qualify for the finals [week] is pretty special."

And, they did it with a call that's quite contrary to the prevailing norm. No team since the 2024 final had opted to bat after winning the toss in WPL, for 40 successie games, until Ash Gardner flipped the script in Vadodara. "Oh, we're geniuses then," Klinger quipped, before explaining the two-fold reason behind the call that set the tone for them.

"One, we've been playing pretty well batting first. It was the fourth time the wicket has been used so we felt if we could post a pretty solid total and bowl and field somewhere near our best then we could defend it.

"Also came into account our first game against Mumbai. We batted first and made 190 [192]. If we're probably being honest, had we bowled and fielded a little bit better we should have won that game as well. So, against this team - who won their last game batting first as well, and posting a good total with Nat Sciver-Brunt making a big hundred - we just felt it was going to benefit us if we could post a good total."

On a wicket that's starting to show signs of some wear and tear - hosting its fourth game of the season as it was - runs would have been difficult to come by as the game progressed, and anything in the vicinity of 170 was above par. Giving their batting the freedom to do that, without the scoreboard pressure of second innings, was their best chance. This was a conscious, early call, before a ball was sent down, that set the tone for the Giants.

That said, there was still a job to do first - of putting up a fighting total. Several senior players put their hands up. Up top was Sophie Devine, who has been a consistent match-winner across departments. On a night where quick runs were the currency while the wicket stayed fresh, Devine's 21-ball 25, and a crucial 48-run partnership with Anushka Sharma, was vital in resurrecting after the early setback of Beth Mooney's loss. She had more telling contribution with the ball later. Devine lent two devastating blows to MI's chase - accounting for both Nat Sciver-Brunt and Hayley Matthews; the centurion and the half-centurion from MI's last game - in succeeding overs to reduce MI to 37/3 just after the PowerPlay.

This, after winning the side two games with the ball defending single-digit scores in the final over. Klinger noted, "On a slightly slower wicket, to score mid-20s off about 20 balls and give us a solid start which is what we needed tonight," before highlighting her impact beyond the scorecards. "She's had an excellent season with bat and ball... Her presence in general on match day, outside of match day, at training, helping some of the others and just being a great personality around the group. She's worth every cent that we bought her for. She's been fantastic," he said, hoping she carries her form "for one or two more games".

The biggest win yet for GG on the night was Georgia Wareham's return to form. Her counter-attacking 26-ball 44 not out, and a 71-run quickfire stand with Gardner, enabled Giants to finish closer to the 170-run target they felt was defendable. With the ball, she applied the squeeze, including a tight 18th over for just five after getting rid of Amelia Kerr in the 12th to expose Mumbai's under-tested lower-order at 82/4. Player of the Match after playing a decisive role with the bat and the ball, Wareham's performance came after a bit of a bumpy ride in the season that also saw the leggie being benched for a game.

"It probably hadn't clicked 100% for her but she'd shown signs." Klinger said. The quick 27* off 10 at the start, a previous 33-ball 43 not out against MI was enough for the Giants management to back the WBBL Player of the Tournament to come good sooner than later.

"To come out and win Player of the Match after probably being just under a bit of pressure in terms of her maybe not performing as well as she would have liked. As coaching staff we all knew it wasn't far away and that she was going to click and that's why we kept giving her opportunities.

"Today, we thought she'd match up really well also given it was the fourth time this pitch was in use. We thought her bowling would be really useful tonight, and figures of 4 overs 2 for 26 against Mumbai Indians, who generally play spin pretty well, I thought, was a huge effort," Klinger said, beaming as he read the numbers off his notes.

Wareham's selection in itself was an outcome of a difficult call. Danni Wyatt-Hodge, who had replaced Wareham in the XI two games ago, had been unlucky. She got in due to the tactical reshuffle needed on Vadodara's pitches but her illness soon after paved the way for the Australian allrounder's return. Going into the must-win clash, Giants debated bringing back Wyatt-Hodge but ultimately felt Wareham's experience in the given conditions gave them the edge. Wareham vindicated the call with all-round returns that ticked yet another box for Giants heading into the knockouts.

If Wareham set it up, Gardner made all the right calls under pressure to strangle MI to even earn praise from her opposite number. With leg-side boundary being the bigger of the two, pitching Wareham against Harmanpreet - whose go-to shots are the slog-sweeps -tied down the well-set batter when the ask was 42 off last 18. She gave Devine, a death-overs specialist now, the 19th to save as much as she could from 37. Devine limited the damage, and with 26 to defend, the skipper put her hand up - ahead of pacers like Kashvee Gautam and Renuka Thakur - despite the negative match-up. She mis-executed twice to concede two sixes, much to the nervousness of her dugout. But her quick adjustment to close out the game, and brave leadership overall earned praise from the management.

"I was nervous right till the end," Klinger admitted. "Even when they needed 13 off 2 you can still have a Super Over at that point. But Ash was able to compose herself and bowl a few really good balls in that over. [She] used the wicket a bit more after trying to bowl a couple of yorkers [that went awry], and that proved to be successful.

"The way the game was set up she really only had to bowl two good balls to win it. Obviously I think she felt - and we felt as well - that she's our most experienced bowler for the situation. I think she made the right call. She's done that a couple of times now to bowl the real tough overs and that's a credit to her that she's happy to take that responsibility. I couldn't be happier for her, I thought she captained them brilliantly today."

Besides commendable leadership and team-work, there was also clarity in how the extended GG setup viewed Mumbai's long-standing dominance. Klinger acknowledged the 8-0, having been associated with the franchise since second edition, but insisted that the damning record didn't shape the messaging around the crucial encounter. The brief was simple.

"It doesn't come into our game-by-game discussions when we play MI," Klinger offered. "We know what we've got to do to beat any team and when we play somewhere very close to our best I think we're in a position to beat most teams here so we were pretty close to one of our best games tonight.

"They're a quality team, quality opposition, but for GG to get over the line tonight means a lot to us and our management and owners as well so I don't think we went into the game any differently."

For Giants, the win was a massive validation of their processes - be it around selection calls, patience with players finding rhythm, or the self-belief. Against a side that's always stood in the way, they finally pushed through. Now they await their opponent in Eliminator, which, by quirk of fate, could still be Mumbai. But then, they'll front up knowing they have already beaten history once.