Nat Sciver-Brunt’s all-around performance helps the Mumbai Indians defeat the UP Warriorz by a decisive margin of eight wickets.
Following an outstanding bowling display, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Hayley Matthews hit commanding fifties as the Mumbai Indians crushed the UP Warriorz by eight wickets in their Women’s Premier League match here on Wednesday.
After MI chose to bowl first, Sciver-Brunt maintained her incredible form, finishing with figures of 3/18 as they held UPW to 142/9.
After that, the England all-rounder led MI to victory in just 17 overs with a game-winning knock of 75 not out off 44 balls, which included 13 fours. He and Matthews (59 off 50 balls) formed an 82-ball 133-run second-wicket partnership.
With six points from their third straight victory, MI jumped to the top of the rankings, while UPW, who had lost four of their six meetings with MI, were still in fourth position.
Matthews was abandoned by Ecclestone early in the MI pursuit, which began quietly. MI was at 6/1 in the fourth over after Deepti Sharma bowled out Yastika Bhatia after seven dot balls.After Matthews replied with a four and a six, Sciver-Brunt took over and hit three straight fours off Saima Thakor in a 15-run over, putting MI at 33/1 at the end of the power play.
Sciver-Brunt continued her explosive hitting, striking consecutive fours off Chinelle Henry in a 13-run over. Then came Ecclestone, who reached her fifty off just 29 balls after hitting three more fours in the 13th over.
After hitting a six off Grace Harris in the 16th over, Matthews joined in the celebration, adding two more fours in a 22-run over. She also mentioned her fifty off forty-five balls.Even though Ecclestone got rid of Matthews in the seventeenth over, the damage was already done, and MI easily reached the target.
UPW had gotten off to a strong start earlier when Harris opened the innings with a fiery knock that included six fours and two sixes. Alongside Vrinda Dinesh (33), she contributed 79 runs for the second wicket, but UPW saw an unexplainable collapse, losing four wickets for just 12 runs and never rebuilding.
