WPL: UP Warriors gave an unexpected shock to the Mumbai Indians, who had won five matches in a row. Mumbai tasted defeat for the first time in this tournament.
First Published Mar 18, 2023, 6:53 PM IST
Mumbai Indians, who are on a pilgrimage with consecutive victories in the Women’s Premier League, suffered their first defeat in the league. The UP Warriors team.. introduced the first defeat of this season to Harmanpreet Sena. Be it the excitement of already making the playoffs or some other reason, Mumbai failed in all departments and suffered their first defeat. UP bowlers initially restricted Mumbai to 127 runs, then the team got closer to a playoff berth after losing five wickets in 19.3 overs with the boom of batsmen Grace Harris and Tahila McGrath. RCB has left the playoffs in this league with the defeat of Mumbai..!
In order to break the easy target, UP lost the wicket of opener Devika Vaidya (1) in the second over. Captain Alyssa Haley (8) was sent back by Issy Wang as the LB. Kiran Navgire (12) who hit a six in the fourth over bowled by Mathews was also caught by keeper Yastika in the seventh over bowled by Natalie Seaver.
Tahila McGrath (38 off 25 balls, 6 fours, 1 six) supported UP after losing 3 crucial wickets for 27. She added 46 runs for the fourth wicket with Grace Harris (39 off 28 balls, 7 fours). McGrath hit three fours in the 11th over bowled by Saika Ishaq. In the 12th over bowled by Amelia Kerr, she gave a catch and turned back. UP scored 72 runs for the loss of 4 wickets in 12 overs.
Despite McGrath’s departure, Haris along with Deepti Sharma (13 not out) brought UP closer to victory. Natalie Seaver hit two fours in the 13th over. In the same swing, Amanjyot Kaur hit two more fours in the 15th over. Amelia Kerr bowled two boundaries in the next over, but in the fourth ball of the same over, a huge shot was caught in the hands of Adiwa Wang. But still UP needed only 23 runs off 26 balls to win. Deepti Sharma and Ecclestone (16 not out) completed the rest of the form.
Ecclestone hit a four off the first ball of the 18th over bowled by Kerr. Deepti also hit a four in the fourth ball of the 19th over bowled by Mathews. When five runs were to be scored in the last over, Harman gave the ball to Issy Wang. No runs were scored in the first and second balls of this over. But Ecclestone’s huge six off the third ball sealed UP’s victory.
Mumbai, who lost the toss and batted first, were bowled out for 127 runs in the allotted 20 overs. Mathews (35), in that team. Issy Wong (32) and Harmanpreet Kaur (25) were the only ones who did not feel good. None of the other batters scored in double figures. Among the UP bowlers, Ecclestone took 3 wickets while Rajeshwari Gaikwad and Deepti Sharma took two wickets each.
