West Indies captain Hayley Matthews once again showcased her all-round prowess as she assisted Mumbai Indians Women to a dominant eight-wicket victory over Chinelle Henry’s UP Warriorz in their Women’s Premier League (WPL) clash at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
Matthews played a crucial role with both bat and ball, first taking 1-38 to help restrict UP Warriorz to 142-9 and then hammered a 50-ball 59, which included seven fours and two sixes. Her commanding innings, combined with an unbeaten 75 off 44 balls from Nat Sciver-Brunt, guided the Mumbai Indians to 143-2 with three overs to spare.
Sciver-Brunt also delivered an impressive all-round performance, claiming 3-18 from her four overs before leading the scoring charge with her aggressive knock that featured 13 boundaries.
Hayley Matthews plays a shot during her knock. (Photos: BCCI)
After being sent in to bat, UP Warriorz had a rocky start as they lost their first wicket with just two runs on the board. However, Grace Harris steadied the innings with a quick-fire 26-ball 45, laced with six fours and two sixes, while Dinesh Vrinda contributed 33 off 30 balls, including five boundaries.
Their 79-run second-wicket partnership gave the innings some stability, but their dismissals triggered a middle-order collapse, leaving UP Warriorz struggling at 93-5.
Shweta Sehrawat, with 19 off 13 balls, and Uma Chetry, who was left unbeaten on 13, were the other notable contributors, as West Indies all-rounder Henry (seven) and others failed to make an impact, resulting in a sub-150 total.
Shabnim Ismail (2-33) and Sanskriti Gupta (2-11) provided valuable support to Sciver-Brunt in the Mumbai Indians’ bowling attack.
Nat Sciver-Brunt celebrates on of her three wickets.
Much like their opponents, the Mumbai Indians had a shaky start to their innings, as Matthew’s opener partner Yastika Bhatia fell for a duck. However, Matthews and Sciver-Brunt ensured there were no further setbacks, as they stitched together a commanding 133-run partnership that dismantled the UP Warriorz bowling attack.
Though Matthews fell in the 17th over, the chase was all but sealed, with captain Harmanpreet Kaur striking a boundary off her lone delivery faced to wrap up the game.
This victory marked Mumbai Indians’ third of the season and propelled them to the top of the standings with six points, as Delhi Capitals Women were relegated to second place on net run rate. Meanwhile, UP Warriorz remain in fourth place with four points as the competition heats up.