For a while, the theory seemed to have come true that Gujarat Giants were heavily reliant on their foreign exports to carry the burden of their batting. On paper, with four overseas batters in their top five, no parallel justification would have made for an adequate counterargument. Despite the denial, and the paper showcase of the long batting line-up, it was obvious.

And when No. 6 Ayushi Soni - a talented player head coach Michael Klinger had promised, more than once, would be one to watch out for - was retired out (the first time for any player in the history of WPL) after her 14-ball 11, it was certain that at least for that moment, Giants had given up their hopes on the 25-year-old.

It wasn't as if Soni was the only one struggling at that point. Georgia Wareham, despite hitting three boundaries till then, had moved to only 27 off 24 balls, and the scoring rate had dipped from nearly 10-an-over to 8.5 through the course of their 35-ball alliance. But Giants trusted the big hitting Australian to speed up in the death, and for all justifiable reasons, pushed the hard-hitting Bharti Fulmali to take advantage of the last four overs.

The move worked out. Despite a wobbly start, when she had to overturn two legbefore decisions against her, Fulmali blasted 36 runs off only 15 balls to power Giants to 192 for 5 - a total that was probably underpar given the surface, and one that would've left Giants disappointed after having placed themselves at 96 for 2 at the end of the ninth over.

Explaining the reason behind the decision to retire out Soni, Klinger said, "We spoke to Ayushi and Georgia at that 13-over timeout, and spoke to Ayushi about really lifting her rate once we get to the 15th over because of what we had left in the shed. Bharti is a really strong hitter, and we probably just felt after that 16th over that was the time to inject Bharti in with four overs to go, and we knew we had some batters left.

"In the end, the decision came actually to myself. I was chatting with our batting coach and then Ash Gardner came over and we discussed it, and I made the call. In hindsight, it got us probably 20 more runs. So there's no doubt the call was the right one. It's tough on the individual... but sometimes you've got to make those calls. It was probably the difference between us making 190-odd to 170-odd."

Much like Fulmali, there was another inexperienced Indian player who had impressed on the other side of that partnership. On a day when Sophie Devine departed early and Beth Mooney took time to find her pace, the 23-year-old Kanika Ahuja took charge of the attack in the top order. Promoted to No 3 in the absence of the injured Anushka Sharma, as one of the options who could take on pace and spin with equal ease, Kanika cut loose against Hayley Matthews and Shabnim Ismail early on to make her intent clear. The memo handed over to her was to play strong shots but not 'overhit' the ball.

The move worked. After Mooney's dismissal, she smoked Amanjot Kaur over deep mid wicket and slogged Amelia Kerr through the same region for a boundary. Even though her innings was cut short on the 18th delivery, she had played her part with the 35-run blitz. However, even before she was dismissed in the 10th over, all three overseas batters were back in the hut. The onus had fallen on the inexperienced Indian batters - in the company of Wareham - to carry the weight of the innings.

Fulmali flourished, but the slowdown in the period between overs 9 to 16 proved costly as Giants could manage only 40 runs in that phase after having cruised at over 10-an-over till that point. On the flipside, in the same period, led by the counterattack from Harmanpreet Kaur, Amanjot Kaur and Nicola Carey, Mumbai Indians amassed 78 runs, and laid the foundation of their win. For a contest that went down to the last over, evidently that is where the difference lay.

Even as it required Mumbai Indians to chase down a record total, on the flat pitch at the DY Patil Stadium, a target of 193 would have left the defending champions believing they were in an advantageous position. Giants didn't help their case with some minor slip-ups on the field which allowed for extra runs and broke the pressure at critical times. With three dropped catches to allow Harmanpreet to bat on till the end, it just made the challenge of defending the total worse. Soni's day out on the field only became more forgettable in the second half as she was responsible for two of those dropped chances.

It would be harsh to pin the blame for the defeat on Soni, a player who was making her WPL debut and somehow found herself in the middle of these sliding moments. It's been nearly five years since she featured in her lone international game, and she has never been a part of such a high-level competition since. Giants' loss was a larger reflection of how they have tended to crumble in the past - and did so again - when their overseas players didn't put in dominant performances; like Gardner and Wareham did in the first game, and Devine followed it up with an all-round special against Delhi Capitals.

A good part of the reason why the contest against MI went down to the last over was because Kanika and Fulmali played those cameos. They got as many deliveries to face also because it was a rare occasion when Mooney, Devine and Gardner collectively failed to dominate in friendly batting conditions. Ironically, it's games like these in the past that have allowed the inexperienced Indian players to enter the deep end and seize their opportunities, display their talent under pressure.

Giants have been in such positions way too often over the last three seasons. And it's no surprise that no franchise has seen as many players make it to the national team for the first time after making their WPL debuts as Giants have.

Like it has happened many times in the past, on Tuesday again, Gujarat's loss happened to be India's gain. Two players - the 23-year-old Kanika, in her relatively new role in the WPL at the top order, and the 31-year-old Fulmali at the death - made emphatic statements, not just with their skills but their temperament to handle different pressure situations.

Soni may have lost out on using this opportunity, but with Anushka Sharma injured for 'some time', there may be a few more chances coming her way, and on days that might be more generous to her.

For now, Giants would hope to ensure their talented 'player to watch out for' isn't hit too hard by the off-day. "We've spoken to Ayushi, and we'll continue to speak to her and keep the confidence in her," Klinger assured.