Another clinical performance with both bat and ball from Mumbai Indians ensured they secured a six-wicket victory over UP Warriorz with nine balls to spare. This defeat pushes UPW to the bottom of the table and, more likely than not, out of contention for a top-three finish.
Mumbai Indians’ decision to opt for a new opening pair didn’t work out as they had hoped, as Amelia Kerr—who earlier in the first innings took a five-wicket haul—miscued a short-pitched ball from Chinelle Henry to midwicket, departing for 10 runs off 13 balls.
Nevertheless, Hayley Matthews continued the onslaught alongside Natalie Sciver-Brunt. The duo built a commanding 92-run partnership, putting UP Warriorz out of the contest before they could even react. Matthews brought up a half-century before edging a delivery from Kranti Goud to Georgia Voll, who came in from midwicket. She scored 68 runs off 46 balls, including two sixes and eight boundaries. Sciver-Brunt played a solid supporting role from the other end, scoring 37 at a strike rate of 160.87, hitting seven boundaries.
UPW attempted to claw their way back into the game with consecutive wickets. However, a shaky partnership between Amanjot Kaur and Yastika Bhatia ensured MI comfortably reached the target with six wickets in hand.
Earlier in the innings; On a red-soil surface with a fair bit of grass, MI won the toss in this second WPL game at the Ekana International Stadium in Lucknow and opted to bowl first. This has been the prevailing trend in the tournament, with teams choosing to bowl first in all 16 games so far and winning 13 of the previous 15 matches.
Despite losing the toss, UPW wouldn’t have been too disappointed, given the swashbuckling start provided by their third different opening pair of the season. Grace Harris and Georgia Voll launched an explosive attack, helping their team reach 74 runs in the first eight overs before Harris holed out to short fine leg while pulling a short-pitched ball from Hayley Matthews. Voll didn’t last long either, as Nat Sciver-Brunt cleaned her up. The duo combined for a 74-run stand, smashing 13 fours and one six between them.
Following this, MI capitalised on UPW’s vulnerable middle order, triggering a collapse to 125/7, with Kerr picking up five wickets and Matthews claiming two. Kerr’s figures of 5/38 are now her best in the WPL, and she also holds the record for the joint-most five-wicket hauls in T20s.
Captain Deepti Sharma tried to anchor the innings at one end, but wickets kept tumbling at the other. A late push came from Sophie Ecclestone, who chipped in with a few boundaries to help UPW post a moderate total of 150/9 at the end of 20 overs.
Brief Score: MI 153-4 (18.3 ovrs) (Hayley Mathews 68, Nat Sciver-Brunt 37; Grace Harris 2-11) beat UPW 150-9 (20 ovrs) (Georgia Voll 55, Grace Harris 28; Amelia Kerr 5-38) by 6 wickets.