The Mumbai Indians Women secured a four-wicket win over defending champions Royal Challengers Bangalore Women in a tense Women’s Premier League encounter at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday.
RCB posted 135-6 from their 20 overs after winning the toss and batting first. Australian star Ellyse Perry led the way with a crucial 66 off 50 balls including eight fours and a six.
West Indies skipper Hayley Matthews starred with the ball for the Indians with 2-18 from her four overs while English all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt had identical figures from her four over spell.
Saika Ishaque took the other two wickets to fall while conceding 27 runs in three overs.
Mumbai were then restricted to 130-6 from their 20 overs in reply.
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur led the way with 33 while Amelie Kerr made 27* and Nat Sciver-Brunt made 23. Matthews contributed 15 at the top of the order.
Shreyanka Patil was the best bowler on the day for RCB with 2-16 from four overs.
Matthews, who made 55 in a losing cause on last, got a fairly decent start, and though she failed to push on, it mattered little, as Mumbai Indians made light work of the modest target set by Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Chasing 132, Mumbai Indians got to their target with 29 balls to spare, with Matthews contributing a brisk 21-ball 26.
She struck three fours and a solitary six in a 45-run opening stand with Yastika Bhatia, which laid the foundation for the run chase. Bhatia lashed a 15-ball 31.
Matthews added a further 24 runs for the second wicket with captain Nat Sciver-Brunt (27), before holing out to cover off-spinner Shreyanka Patil.
From there, it was left for New Zealander Amelia Kerr to apply the finish with a snappy 40 off 24 balls, including seven fours, that fuelled an important 49-run third wicket partnership with Sciver-Brunt.
Earlier, RCB stumbled their way to 131 for six off their 20 overs after being sent in, Australian Ellyse Perry holding the innings together with an unbeaten 44 off 38 balls.
With the innings in trouble at 42 for four in the ninth over, Perry put on 29 for the fifth wicket with fellow countrywoman Sophie Molineux (12), before adding a further 51 for the seventh wicket with another international teammate Georgia Wareham, who made 27 from 20 deliveries.
The win was Mumbai’s third in four games, putting them top of the standings on six points.
The Warriorz won the toss and elected to field first at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai.
West Indies captain Hayley Matthews led the way with 35 while Issy Wong scored 32 and Mumbai Indians skipper Harmanpreet Kaur 25 as the Indians were bowled out for 127 in their 20 overs.
Sophie Ecclestone led the way with the ball for the Warriorz, taking 3-15 from her four overs while Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Deepti Sharma took 2-16 and 2-35 from their respective four over spells.
The successful chase was then led by Grace Harris’ 28-ball 39 while Talia McGrath got 38 as the Warriorz reached 129-5 in 19.3 overs to secure their third win out of six games to move to third in the table behind Mumbai, who lead the table only having one loss in six games, and Delhi who have two losses in their six outings.
Amelia Kerr was the best Mumbai bowler on the day with 2-22 from her four overs while Hayley Matthews, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Issy Wong all took a wicket each.
Scores: Mumbai Indians 127 off 20 overs (Hayley Matthews 35, Issy Wong 32, Harmanpreet Kaur 25, Sophie Ecclestone 3-15, Rajeshwari Gayakwad 2-16, Deepti Sharma 2-35)
UP Warriorz 129-5 off 19.3 overs (Grace Harris 39, Talia McGrath 38, Sophie Ecclestone 16*, Deepti Sharma 13*, Amelia Kerr 2-22).