Mumbai, (Samajweekly) Mumbai Indians (MI) registered their fourth win in a row, beating UP Warriorz (UPW) by eight wickets in Match 10 of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) at the Brabourne Stadium, here on Sunday.
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur (53*) led from the front and Nat Sciver-Brunt and Yastika Bhatia chipped in with vital 45* & 42 respectively while Saika Ishaque starred with the ball for Mumbai Indians.
Needing 160 runs to win, MI were off to a brisk start as Bhatia, who was dropped in the second over, and Hayley Matthews took MI to 51/0 after six overs. Amongst runs, big hits and a dropped chance, there was an action-packed DRS call in the fifth over bowled by Sophie Ecclestone, featuring Matthews, who managed to stay in the middle after the third umpire stuck with the on-field decision of not-out.
However, UPW struck back as Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Ecclestone dismissed Bhatia and Matthews respectively. While Bhatia was caught in the deep, Matthews was caught by Ecclestone on her own bowling.
Harmanpreet enjoyed a stroke a luck in the 11th over as an Anjali Sarvani delivery, despite hitting the stumps did not dislodge the bails, and the MI skipper made the most of that luck as she, with Sciver-Brunt for company, upped the ante to power their team past hundred in the 14th over and in that process, went on to complete a vital fifty-run stand.
Harman changed the course of the match in space of an over as she went after Tahila McGrath and smashed three fours and a six in the 16th over before bringing up her second half-century of the season in just 31 balls. The Kaur-Sciver-Brunt then completed a sensational 100-run partnership as MI zoomed past the finish line, with 15 balls to spare.
Earlier, UPW, who brought in Shabnim Ismail to the playing XI, elected to bat against MI, who picked Dhara Gujjar. The Alyssa Healy-led unit lost their first wicket early Saika Ishaque – the current Purple Cap-holder struck in the second over of the match, dismissing Devika Vaidya. Captain Healy though continued her good run of form from the last game as she targeted the MI left-arm spinner in the fourth over before UPW moved to 48/1 after 6 overs.
While Kiran Navgire took on Amelia Kerr in the seventh over, she got out in the same over. However, Tahila McGrath, who replaced Navgire in the middle, upped the ante for UPW as she scored at a brisk pace, helping the team to bring up their hundred in 12 overs. Healy then notched up her second successive fifty in 36 balls. McGrath joined the fifty-scoring party soon after, reaching the landmark in 36 balls in the 17th over.
However, MI broke the Healy-McGrath partnership as Ishaque dismissed both the UPW batters in the same over. Ecclestone was the next batter to get out as Matthews struck in the next over. Kerr, meanwhile, picked her second wicket in the final over of the match before UPW ended their innings at 159/6.
Brief Scores: Mumbai Indians 164/2 (Harmanpreet Kaur 53*, Nat Sciver-Brunt 45*; Sophie Ecclestone 1/30) beat UP Warriorz 159/6 (Alyssa Healy 58, Tahila McGrath 50; Saika Ishaque 3/33) by 8 wickets.
