Nat Sciver-Brunt’s unbeaten 72 off 38 balls and a hat-trick by Isabelle Wong (4 for 15) guided Mumbai Indians to the final of the Women’s Premier League, defeating UP Warriorz by 72 runs.
In a packed DY Patil Stadium on Friday, Warriorz captain Alyssa Healy won the toss and opted to bowl, but as the game progressed, the decision backfired.
Sciver-Brunt was on six when Sophie Ecclestone dropped a regulation catch off Rajeshwari Gayakwad at mid-off. Making the most of the opportunity, the England international guided Mumbai Indians to a mammoth 182/4.
Hoping to reap rewards from the surface, the Warriorz went spin-heavy in the innings, with 17 of the 20 overs bowled by the tweakers, and that proved effective initially as the side managed to keep runs in check. This despite Yastika Bhatia providing a blistering start before falling to Anjali Sarvani. However, Mumbai Indians bounced back, amassing 66 runs in the last five overs.
While Sciver-Brunt held fort with two fours and a six off Parshavi Chopra in the 12th over, a few solid cameos from Amelia Kerr (19-ball-29) and Pooja Vastrakar (11 not out off 4 balls) bolstered Mumbai’s innings amid huge crowd support.
In the 19th over, bowled by Ecclestone, Kerr hit three consecutive boundaries before falling to Sarvani at deep backward square. But even after that dismissal, Vastrakar provided the finishing touches with a boundary and a huge six to give Mumbai Indians more than enough on the board to work with.
Chasing a huge total, Warriorz needed a steady start, but spinner Saika Ishaque struck in her first over, removing Shweta Sehrawat for a solitary run. As the Mumbai players celebrated, the onus was on Kiran Navgire and captain Healy to rebuild the innings. But Wong denied Healy an opportunity to settle and drew her to offer a dolly to Harmanpreet Kaur at mid-off.
As a dejected Healy, who turned 33 on Friday, walked back to the dug-out, the television cameras caught her husband and Australia pace ace Mitchell Starc with a grim look.
Mitchell Starc often attends games his wife Alyssa Healy is playing in to show his support to his partner. The WPL eliminator was no different.
Starc is in India for the Border Gavaskar Series which saw India and Australia’s men’s teams clash in a four Test and three ODI-series. The Test series went to India 2-1 while Australia beat India 2-1 in the ODI series.
Starc would have had a disappointing time in the stands after Mumbai Indians raced to 182 and his partner, Healy, fell cheaply for a 6-ball 11.
Healy and Starc rang in the UP Warriorz captain’s 33rd birthday together with Starc partaking in the team festivities.
Starc was not the only star at the game. Javelin Olympic Champion Neeraj Chopra was also in attendance and spoke to the media about something special brewing for Indian sports in 2023 with so many players across disciplines doing so well.
Neeraj Chopra was also there watching the Indian U19 team play the final and was witness to the historic moment when Shafali Verma lifted the trophy, giving India Women their first ICC trophy across age groups.
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Having lost two quick wickets, the Warriorz could not bounce back, despite Navgire’s 27-ball-43. The big-hitting Navgire was dropped on 21 and, making most of the reprieve, wanted to anchor the innings. She however ran out of steam and was caught by Sciver-Brunt while trying to clear deep mid-wicket off a Wong delivery.
That set a brilliant hattrick in motion - the first of the season. Wong followed Navgire’s wicket by removing Simran Shaikh and Ecclestone. Reeling at 84 for 7, Warriorz needed a miracle to bounce back, but with Wong and Ishaque tightening the noose, their innings folded for 110 in 17.4 overs.
In the last couple of group league games, Warriorz’ middle-order was on fire with consistent performances from McGrath, Grace Harris and Ecclestone, but none of them could fire in the crunch fixture.
Tokyo Olympics medallist Neeraj Chopra was in attendance for the eliminator and he witnessed an all-round brilliance by Mumbai Indians as it dominated in every department to set up a Harmanpreet Kaur vs Meg Lanning final on Sunday.
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