Mumbai Indians breezed past UP Warriroz and moved to the top of the table with an imposing 8-wicket win in the ongoing Women’s Premier League on Wednesday.
After an inspirational performance with the ball, Hayley Matthews and Nat Sciver-Brunt staged a dominant victory for Mumbai Indians. MI opener Yastika Bhatia’s dry spell continued with the bat after Deepti Sharma sent her back for an eight-ball duck.
After Yastika’s return, MI’s chase was fuelled by Sciver-Brunt and Matthews. They began their partnership with caution as MI crawled to 18 runs in the first five overs.
Sciver-Brunt decided to break the shackles with a hat-trick of fours and invited Matthews to join the party. MI reached 65/1 at the halfway mark in no time as the duo shifted through gears.
They continued to press the accelerator, scoring another 50 runs in the next five overs. Sciver-Brunt brought up her third fifty of the ongoing season in the process en route to 75* from 44 deliveries.
Matthews also celebrated her first fifty of the season but couldn’t stay till the end to see off the game. Sciver-Brunt stayed till the end and ensured MI sealed the chase with an eight-wicket win and three overs to spare.
Earlier in the match, after being put to bat, Grace Harris (45) and Vrinda Dinesh (33) waged a war while the rest of the batters failed to leave a mark in the game.
After Kiran Navgire’s trip to the dressing room was punched by Sciver-Brunt for a score of 1(3), Harris and Vrinda established the sinking ship.
They raised a valuable 79-run partnership for the second wicket, but things went downhill once the stand ended. From 81/2 in 9.2 overs, UP Warriroz could only add 61 runs in the next half and limped to 142/9.
Sciver-Brunt, with her clinical three-wicket haul, kept the UP Warriorz batters silent. On the other hand, Sanskriti Gupta dealt crucial blows in the middle and returned with figures of 2/11.
Brief Scores: 142/9
UP Warriorz: Grace Harris 45 (26), Vrinda Dinesh 33 (30), Shweta Sehrawat 19 (13). Nat Sciver-Brunt 3/18, Sanskriti Gupta 2/11, Shabnam Ismail 2/33.
Mumbai Indians: Nat Sciver-Brunt 75* (44), Hayley Mathews 59 (50). Deepti Sharma 1/25. Sophie Ecclestone 1/29.
