Harleen Deol, who was controversially retired out in the previous game when she was on 47 because skipper Meg Lanning had thought Chloe Tryon was better suited for the big hits – the ploy backfired badly against Delhi Capitals, proved that she has the ability to score quickly even though she may not trade in sixes and is a match-winner in her own right.
Harleen struck an unbeaten half-century to power Uttar Pradesh Warriorz to a seven-wicket win over defending champions Mumbai Indians in Match 8 of the Women’s Premier League at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
Chasing 162 for a win, Gujarat went on to make 162 for three with 11 balls to spare. Deol remained unbeaten on a 39-ball 64 with 12 hits to the fence and Tryon used the long handle to good effect as she scored a 11-ball 27 with four fours and a six. Warriorz finally got a win after three consecutive losses and that should help them in the next few games to turn things around.
“I felt 180 was par. Batting first was not easy. We did decently well in the powerplay. Later on, Nat and Nic put us in a better position. Credit to Harleen for batting well. Chasing is always better with dew, which was there today. Hopefully, in upcoming games we score better. Great opportunity for youngsters to bowl. They did well with dew around even though our score wasn’t enough,” Mumbai skipper Harmanpreet Kaur said after the game.
Harleen showed what she can bring to the team, says Harmanpreet
Harmanpreet also had a word of praise for Harleen. “Harleen showed what she can bring to the team, she always wants to do well. Surprised to see her retired out, she came with a positive mindset and hope she continues to do that,” she said.
Earlier, Mumbai Indians were saved by an 85-run partnership between Nat Scriver-Brunt and Nicola Carey which helped them reach 161 for five in their 20 overs.
Mumbai had got off to a decent start with openers Amanjot Kaur (38) and G Kamilini (5) adding 43 for the first wicket in 7.2 overs, the former doing the bulk of the scoring. But both fell in quick succession to leave Nat and Harmanpreet to rebuild the innings. That took some steam off the innings and the departure of Harmanpreet (16) at 74 in the 13th over put Mumbai under pressure.
However, Nat and Nicola combined forces to put the Warriorz’ bowlers on the backfoot. The duo added 85 for the fourth wicket off just 44 balls with Nat scoring 51 of those in 25 balls and Nicola getting a 19-ball 31. Nat fell to Shikha Pandey after making 65 off 43 balls with nine fours and a six, while Nicola remained not out on 32 off 20 balls with five hits to the fence.
However, Nat was not done for the day. She struck twice in her third over, the seventh of the innings, to put Warriorz, who had got off to a great start, on the back foot. She first had Lanning (25) caught by Sanjana in the deep and then three balls later had the other opener Kiran Navgire (10) again by Sanjana to reduce Warriorz to 45 for two.
Deol and Phoebe Litchfield (25) then steadied the innings with a 73-run partnership which almost killed Mumbai’s hopes of a comeback. Though Litchfield departed with Warriorz needing 44 more to win, Deol and Tryon ensured a comfortable victory with a 20-ball 44 stand for the unbroken fourth wicket.
Brief scores: Mumbai Indians 161/5 in 20 overs (Amanjot Kaur 38, Nat Scriver-Brunt 65, Harmanpreet Kaur 16, Nicola Carey 32 no) lost to UP Warriorz 162/3 in 18.1 overs (Meg Lanning 25, Phoebe Litchfield 25, Harleen Deol 64 no, Chloe Tryon 27 no; Nat Scriver-Brunt 2/38).
