A terrific all-round performance from Mumbai Indians saw them get back to winning ways, after the defeat to Delhi Capitals, as they beat UP Warriorz by 42 runs in Match 14 of TATA WPL 2024 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
Vital contributions from Nat Sciver-Brunt (45 off 31), Harmanpreet Kaur (33 off 30), Amelia Kerr (39 off 23) and S Sajana (22* off 14) helped MI post a competitive 160/6.
The bowlers, led by Shabnim Ismail (1/6) and Saika Ishaque (3/27), then came out firing on all cylinders and went on a stump-shattering spree to restrict UPW to 118/9 and go second in the table.
Defending 161, MI got off to a superb start as they dismissed Kiran Navgire, Chamari Athapaththu and Alyssa Healy inside the first five overs. Ishaque cleaned up Navgire in the second over, three balls after the UPW batter had hit her for a powerful six over deep mid-wicket off a full toss.
Hayley Matthews made an instant impact, sending back Chamari Athapaththu in the fourth over of the innings. Ismail then breathed fire as she cleaned up Healy off a pacey delivery, which had the leg stump knocked down. It was a brilliant powerplay for MI as they reduced UPW to 17/3 in the first six overs.
MI maintained the stranglehold post the Powerplay and that brought another wicket as Ishaque bounced back strongly again after being hit for a six the previous ball to castle Grace Harris. Ishaque could have had a second in the over, but captain Kaur dropped Shweta Sehrawat at mid off. Ismail finished with excellent figures of 4-0-6-1 inside the first 10 overs as UPW reached 42/4 at the halfway mark.
Deepti Sharma and Shweta Sehrawat tried to stabilise things somewhat, but Pooja Vastrakar came back to clean up Sehrawat. Nat Sciver-Brunt then joined the wicket-taking party, scalping two in two to send back Poonam Khemnar, castled, and Sophie Ecclestone via a brilliant diving catch from S Sajana.
Deepti Sharma battled hard with a fighting 53*(36), but it was always going to be a bridge too far as UPW fell short by 42 runs.
Earlier, Mumbai Indians captain Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and elected to bat.
UPW got off to a good start as Chamari Athapaththu dismissed openers Hayley Matthews and Yastika Bhatia early. She had Matthews caught at mid on in just the second over. UPW could have had two wickets in the first three overs but Grace Harris couldn't hold on to a tough return catch of Nat Sciver-Brunt in the next over. UPW, though, didn't take time to strike again as Athapaththu had Yastika Bhatia caught at deep backward square leg.
Nat Sciver-Brunt got lucky for the second time as she survived a run-out chance after setting off for a single to mid on and Sophie Ecclestone missed the direct hit. The MI all-rounder hit a couple of fours off Rajeshwari Gayakwad to release some pressure and take MI to 37/2 at the end of the Powerplay.
The UPW bowlers largely kept it tight post the Powerply and didn't give Harmanpreet Kaur and Nat Sciver-Brunt much, conceding just four boundaries in the 6-10 overs phase as MI reached 64/2 at the halfway mark.
The pair brought up the 50-run stand off 41 balls but Gayakwad broke it soon as she cleaned Nat Sciver-Brunt for 45(31), with a superb arm ball, to jolt MI.
Kaur and Amelia Kerr then looked to up the ante with a slew of boundaries, with Kaur hitting the first six of the innings. But Alyssa Healy brought Saima Thakor back into the attack, and she got the big wicket of the MI captain (33 off 30), cleaning her up off the first ball of the second over.
MI lost another one soon as Amanjot holed out to deep square leg off Deepti Sharma in the next over.
Kerr, though, kept the scoreboard ticking with her aggressive intent. On the way, she got lucky as she was dropped twice, but she made most of it by providing the final flourish with S Sajana to take MI to 160/6 at the end of 20 overs. Kerr was run out for 39(23) off the last ball, while Sajana remained unbeaten on 22(14). The pair added crucial 43 runs off 26 balls for the sixth wicket.