After a brief pause in the ongoing 3rd edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), the action resumed at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. Hosts UP Warriorz didn’t have the start they would’ve hoped for to their home leg as they suffered a massive 81-run defeat against Gujarat Giants, leaving a huge dent to their qualification hopes.
The Deepti Sharma-led side were up against Mumbai Indians led by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur in the 16th match of the tournament. The home side retained the same 11 that took the field in their previous game. Mumbai Indians made one change, with Parunika Sisodia replacing Jintimani Kalita in the starting 11.
Amelia Kerr leads Mumbai Indians fightback with her maiden WPL fifer
21-year-old Georgia Voll opened the innings alongside Grace Harris, and they provided the Warriorz with a flying start, sharing a 74-run opening partnership, scoring at over 9 runs an over, after the visiting skipper Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and opted to field first.
The Warriorz were eyeing a 200+ total on the board, however, the wheels came off very quickly as they were restricted to 150/9 in their quota of 20 overs, courtesy of an excellent fightback from the Mumbai Indians bowlers, the White Ferns superstar Amelia Kerr was at the forefront as she claimed her maiden WPL five wicket haul and became the first Mumbai Indians bowler to the feat. She returned with her WPL career-best figures of 4-0-38-5.
The Warriorz managed just 76 runs to their total, losing nine wickets in their remaining 12 overs of their innings. Hayley Matthews was super economical (4-0-25-2), picking up the wickets of Grace Harris (28 off 25 balls) and Shweta Sehrawat (0 off 2 balls) in her spell. Nat Sciver-Brunt kept things tight in her spell (3-0-16-1), picking up the big wicket of Georgia Voll (55 off 33 balls), who notched up her maiden half-century in just her 2nd game in the WPL. A cameo from Sophie Ecclestone (16 off 11 balls) took the total to the 150-run mark for the home side.
Hayley Matthews’ fluent fifty brings Mumbai Indians back on track
Chasing a decent total of 151, Mumbai Indians seasoned opener Hayley Matthews, had a new partner in Amelia Kerr and the pair got them off to a confident start, with a 24-run opening partnership, scoring at seven runs an over. Chenille Henry provided the first breakthrough for the home side by removing Amelia Kerr in the 3rd over of the run chase.
Nat Sciver-Brunt joined Hayley Matthews at the crease and the duo took the fizz out of the run chase with a massive 92-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to take their side closer to the 120-run mark. Grace Harris broke the stand to provide the 2nd breakthrough, but a tad too late for her side. Nat Sciver-Brunt inflicted the required damage (37 off 23 balls) before getting dismissed.
Mumbai Indians eventually sealed the game with six wickets in hand and nine balls to spare. Opening batter Hayley Matthews returned to form as she smashed a fluent half-century (68 off 46 balls) to play a crucial role in guiding her side over the line. Grace Harris (2-0-11-2) stood out with the ball, while Chinelle Henry (4-0-28-1) and Sophie Ecclestone (4-0-28-0) played their part with the ball, taking the game as deep as possible for the Warriorz.
Hayley Matthews was awarded the Player of the Match for her sensational innings of 68 off 46 balls and bowling returns of 4-0-25-2. Mumbai Indians return to winning ways and reclaim the 2nd spot in the points table with eight points from six games in their campaign in the league stages of the tournament so far.
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