In a season that had been all downhill for the UP Warriorz, Match 8 of the 2026 Women’s Premier League (WPL) finally provided the spark they desperately needed. Facing the formidable Mumbai Indians at DY Patil Stadium, the Warriorz snapped their three-match losing streak with a clinical 7-wicket victory. After a sluggish start, Mumbai managed to post a competitive 161/5, but a masterful unbeaten half-century from Harleen Deol ensured that the Warriorz reached the target of 162 with 11 balls to spare, effectively opening their account on the points table.
The game began with Meg Lanning winning a crucial toss and asking Mumbai to bat first. It looked like a brilliant decision early on as the Warriorz bowlers completely choked the scoring. Mumbai’s new opening pair, Amanjot Kaur and Gunalan Kamalini, found it incredibly difficult to find the gaps on a sticky surface. Kamalini struggled for her 5 runs off 12 balls, while Amanjot played a lone hand of 38 off 33, including seven boundaries. By the time the 10th over finished, Mumbai was crawling at 54/2, and the pressure was firmly on the defending champions.
However, the game shifted gears the moment Nat Sciver-Brunt decided to take charge. Living up to her reputation as a big-match player, she turned a disastrous start into a late-innings surge. Sciver-Brunt smashed a brutal 65 off just 43 deliveries, peppered with nine fours and a towering six. She found a perfect ally in Nicola Carey, who played a gem of a cameo, scoring 32* off 20 balls. Together, they added 85 runs for the fourth wicket, helping Mumbai plunder 107 runs in the final 10 overs to reach a total that actually gave their bowlers something to defend.
Chasing 162, the Warriorz didn’t exactly set the world on fire in the Powerplay. Meg Lanning (25) and Kiran Navgire (10) provided a steady base of 42 runs, but Sciver-Brunt proved she wasn’t done for the day, striking twice in the seventh over to remove both openers. At 45/2, the ghosts of previous collapses seemed to be hovering over the Warriorz dugout. Mumbai’s bowlers, led by Shabnim Ismail and Amelia Kerr, tried to tighten the screws, but they couldn’t find the breakthrough they needed to kill the game.
This is where Harleen Deol took over the narrative. Having faced criticism and even being retired out in a previous game, she played with a point to prove. Harleen anchored the chase beautifully, combining soft hands for ones and twos with aggressive lofted shots. She put on a 73-run stand with Phoebe Litchfield (25 off 22), which essentially broke the back of the chase. Harleen’s timing was exquisite, and she reached her fifty in the 15th over, eventually finishing on a match-winning 64* from 39 balls.
The finishing touches were applied by Chloe Tryon, who walked in and treated the Mumbai attack with utter disdain. Tryon’s quickfire 27* off 11 balls, which included four boundaries and a massive six off Sajeevan Sajana to level the scores, ensured there was no late-innings drama. A wide on the following delivery sealed the win for UP Warriorz. While Sciver-Brunt was the standout for Mumbai Indians with both bat and her 2/28 with the ball, it was Harleen’s resilience that earned her the Player of the Match honors and gave the Warriorz a much-needed lifeline in the tournament.
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