WPL 2023, UPW vs MI, 15th Match: UP Warriors beat Mumbai Indians by 5 wickets

WPL 2023, UPW vs MI, 15th Match: UP Warriors beat Mumbai Indians by 5 wickets


MumbaiTahlia McGrath (38) and Grace Harris (39) struck crucial knocks as UP Warriors, led by Sophie Eccleston (15/3), pulled off a stunning five-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in the Women’s Premier League on Saturday Entered. Batting first after losing the toss, Mumbai got all out for 127 runs. Warriors achieved the target of 128 runs with three balls to spare despite Mumbai’s tight bowling. Ecclestone took three wickets for just 15 runs in four overs, taking full advantage of a spin-friendly pitch. Rajeshwari Gaikwad took two wickets for 16 runs in four overs, while Anjali Sarwani took one wicket for 10 runs in two overs. Deepti Sharma scored 35 runs in four overs but she also managed to take two wickets.

For Mumbai, opener Hayley Mathews top-scored with 35 off 30 balls, while Isi Wong eventually scored a respectable score of 32 off 19 balls with four fours and a six. Chasing the target was not easy for the Warriors and Mumbai dropped their three wickets for 27 runs. McGrath and Harris then strengthened the Warriors by weaving a 44-run partnership for the fourth wicket. After the fall of McGrath’s wicket, Harris also shared a 34-run partnership with Deepti Sharma (13 not out). Harris lost her wicket after reaching victory, but Eccleston hit a six off the third ball of the 20th over to give the Warriors victory. It was Mumbai’s first defeat in six WPL matches, though they are still at the top of the table with 10 points. With six points from six matches, the Warriors are still at the third spot in the table. Warriors won the toss and decided to bowl first on the pitch of DY Patil Stadium. Captain Alyssa Healy thought that she would put pressure on Mumbai and stop them on a small score. The pair of Anjali and Gaikwad executed this plan in the powerplay.

Opener Hayley Mathews hit Grace Harris for two sixes in the fourth over but Yastika Bhatia struggled to collect runs. Anjali bowled Yastika (15 balls, seven runs) in the fifth over, ending her struggle, while Mumbai could only add 31 runs in the powerplay. Before Mumbai could increase the pace of the innings, Eccleston had Nat Siever Brunt lbw for five runs. Mathews hit Deepti for a six off the last ball of the 10th over, though her constant urge to hit big shots cost her the wicket. She was caught by wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy in an attempt to hit a big shot off Eccleston’s short ball. Like Mathews, Amelia Kerr also returned to the pavilion for three runs in an attempt to play a big shot to Gaikwad. From here on, the responsibility of handling the Mumbai innings was on Harmanpreet Kaur, but with her wicket, half of the Mumbai team returned to the pavilion. Harmanpreet scored 25 runs in his innings of 22 balls including three fours. However, Isi Wong played some good shots to take the team to a respectable score after Mumbai fell for five wickets for 81 runs. While Amanjot Kaur, Humaira Kazi and Dhara Gujjar were dismissed for small scores, Wong hit Parshvi Chopra for two fours in the 15th over. Wong hit a six and a four off the first two balls of the 20th over, however, Deepti’s mistimed strike on the third ball got her run out. On the last ball of the innings, Deepti similarly ran out Saika Ishaq and Mumbai’s innings was reduced to 127 runs. Chasing a relatively small target, the Warriors did not get off to a good start and the Mumbai bowlers did everything possible to make victory difficult for them. Siever-Brunt conceded just one run in the first over, while Mathews dismissed Devika Vaidya in the second over, apart from conceding a single through a wide.

Kiran Navagire showed flashes of aggression in the third over, hitting Siver-Brunt for a four. Healy and Navagire got a life each in this over, although both the batsmen could not take advantage of it. Navagire was dismissed after scoring 12 runs off 16 balls (one four, one six) while Healy was dismissed after scoring eight runs off 10 balls (one four). Harris and McGrath, however, took over the innings after that. McGrath made his intentions clear by hitting Wong for a four and a six in the ninth over, although Harris took time to settle on the pitch. Harris contributed 11 runs in the 44-run partnership between McGrath and Harris, while McGrath scored 38 runs in 25 balls with six fours and a six. After McGrath’s dismissal, Harris took it upon himself to score quick runs. Harris, who scored only 11 runs in the first 13 balls, scored 39 runs in 28 balls, hitting seven fours, before falling prey to Kerr in the 16th over. Wong took a running catch at long-on and returned Harris to the pavilion, although by this time the Warriors had scored 105 runs and needed only 23 runs from 26 balls. Eccleston hit a four in the 18th over and Deepti in the 19th over to bring her team closer to victory. Warriors needed five runs in the last over. Wong bowled the first two balls but Eccleston hit a six off the third ball to hand Mumbai their first defeat of the WPL. Kerr (two wickets) and Saika bowled commendably in this defeat, conceding 22-22 runs in their four overs. Siever Brunt (4 overs, 24 runs), Mathews (4 overs, 26 runs) and Isi Wong (2.3 overs, 24 runs) got one wicket each.



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