A slightly one-sided contest between Gujarat Giants and Delhi Capitals, saw the Meg Lanning-led Capitals climb to the top spot in the points table with a comprehensive six-wicket victory at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru.
Mumbai Indians led by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur were up against UP Warriorz led by skipper Deepti Sharma in the 11th match of the ongoing 3rd edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL). Mumbai Indians made one change as Parunika Sisodia was replaced by Jintimani Kalita in the starting 11, while the Deepti Sharma-led UP Warriorz retained the same side that took the field in their previous encounter.
Opener Grace Harris fires, but a collapse saw the Warriorz end with 142
Grace Harris earned a much-awaited promotion to open the innings, and it paid rich dividends in terms of providing stability at the top of the order for the Warriorz. The Warriorz lost Kiran Navgire on the 4th ball of the innings after the Mumbai skipper Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and inserted them to bat first. Nat Sciver-Brunt provided the first breakthrough for Mumbai Indians.
Vrinda Dinesh joined Grace Harris at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 79-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to give a solid platform for their side. Amelia Kerr picked up the wicket of Grace Harris (45 off 26 balls) to provide the much-needed breakthrough for her side. The 20-year-old youngster Sanskriti Gupta brought Mumbai Indians roaring back into the contest by removing Vrinda Dinesh (33 off 30 balls), and Tahlia McGrath in quick succession in the 11th over of the innings.
A dramatic collapse followed as the UP Warriorz went from being in a strong position at 81/1 in the 10th over of the innings to 142/9 in their quota of 20 overs, courtesy of a last ball boundary from the 21-year-old youngster Kranti Goud. The Deepti Sharma-led side just managed to score 61 runs for the loss of eight wickets in their 2nd half of the innings. The pair of Grace Harris and Vrinda Dinesh contributed a significant amount of around 56% of their side’s total.
Shweta Sehrawat (19 off 13 balls), and wicket-keeper batter Uma Chetry (13 off 20 balls) were the only other batters to enter into the double digits with the bat for the Warriorz.
Nat Sciver-Brunt (4-0-18-3) was the stand-out performer with the ball for Mumbai Indians, while Sanskriti Gupta (2-0-11-2) triggered the collapse with a double wicket in the 11th over. Amelia Kerr (4-0-24-1), Shabnim Ismail (4-0-33-1), and Hayley Matthews (4-0-38-1) played their part with the ball for Mumbai Indians.
Nat Sciver-Brunt and Hayley Matthews make light work of the run chase
Chasing a total of 143, the Warriorz new-ball bowlers Chinelle Henry and Sophie Ecclestone kept it tight and that almost resulted into the wicket of Hayley Matthews off the bowling of Chinelle Henry, however, it wasn’t to be as Sophie Ecclestone dropped a simple opportunity in the slip cordon to provide a reprieve in the 3rd over of the run chase.
Skipper Deepti Sharma took the matter into her own hands to remove the wicket-keeper batter Yastika Bhatia in the 4th over of the run chase for an eight-ball duck. Nat Sciver-Brunt joined Hayley Matthews at the crease and the duo almost killed the run chase with a massive 133-run partnership for the 2nd wicket, taking their side on the brink of a dominating victory.
Sophie Ecclestone finally found her rhythm, probably a little too late for the Warriorz, as she ended Hayley Matthews’s scratchy stay (59 off 50 balls) at the crease. She completed her half-century before getting dismissed. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur entered and nonchalantly finished things off with a boundary to seal a dominating eight-wicket win with 18 balls to spare.
Nat Sciver-Brunt anchored the run chase yet again, as she stayed unbeaten on 75* off 44 balls to guide her side over the line in the chase, bringing up her 6th half-century in the WPL. Sophie Ecclestone (4-0-29-1), and skipper Deepti Sharma (3-0-25-1), were the lone wicket-takers with the ball for UP Warriorz, while Chinelle Henry (4-0-24-0) was unlucky not to have a wicket next to her name.
Nat Sciver-Brunt was awarded the Player of the Match for her masterclass blockbuster show. She returned with sensational match figures of 4-0-18-3 in her spell with the ball, and guided her side over the line with an unbeaten half-century (75* off 44 balls) with the bat to guide her side over the line as the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side reclaim the top spot in the points table.
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