WPL: Sciver-Brunt leads MI to easy victory
Nat Sciver-Brunt and Hayley Matthews smashed commanding fifties after a superb bowling effort as Mumbai Indians hammered UP Warriorz by eight wickets in their Women’s Premier League match here on Wednesday.
Sciver-Brunt continued her sensational form, finishing with figures of 3/18 as MI restricted UPW to 142/9 after opting to bowl first.
The England all-rounder then played a match-winning knock of 75 not out off 44 balls, including 13 fours, forming an 82-ball 133-run second-wicket partnership with Matthews (59 off 50 balls) to guide MI to victory in just 17 overs.
Earlier, UPW had made a solid start as Grace Harris, opening the innings, struck six fours and two sixes in a fiery knock. She added 79 runs for the second wicket with Vrinda Dinesh (33), but UPW suffered an inexplicable collapse, losing four wickets for just 12 runs and never recovered.
MI’s third consecutive win propelled them to the top of the standings with six points, while UPW remained in fourth place after their fourth loss in six encounters with MI.
“Whatever we tried to execute came out well. Really happy with the result. Getting a wicket in the first over is really crucial. And Nat bowled really well. You just need to do the right thing again and again and Sanskriti’s wickets turned it around. I think we have got a lot of experience in our side and everyone knows her role,” MI captain Harmanpreet Kaur said.
Brief scores: UP Warriorz: 142/9 (Harris 45, Vrinda 33; Sciver-Brunt 3/18, Gupta 2/11, Ismail 2/33); Mumbai Indians: 143/2 in 17 overs (Sciver-Brunt 75*, Matthews 59; Sharma 1/25).
