WPL24: Sciver , Harman stars in MI revenge of UPW
The 14th match of the WPL tournament was played on March 7, 2024. It was a contest between the Mumbai Indians and UP Warriorz. MI defeated their opponents by 42 runs and therefore avenges their loss to UPW in the 1st phase.
After this massive win, MI continues to stand at the 2nd rank, while UPW are pushed to the bottom 3, by occupying the 4th position.
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For the first time, Delhi will be venue for WPL 2024. Today’s contest between MI and UPW was played at Arun Jaitely Stadium at Delhi. The first phase of WPL 2024 was hosted from February 23 to March 4 in Bengaluru, where 11 matches of the league stage were held with the home side Royal Challengers Bangalore and UP Warriorz playing the majority of games. Further, Feroz Shah Kotla will host 11 matches, including the two playoff matches, this season from March 5 to March 17.
Known to produce slow and low wickets, the pitches at the Kotla saw a major transformation, after the work done before the ICC ODI World Cup 2023. The wickets have turned into batters paradise, producing some high-scoring contests.
Looking at the pitch report, MI after winning the toss decided to bat first, and scored 160 runs at the loss of 6 wickets. UPW, In response managed to make 118 runs at the loss of 9 wickets.
Initially, MI was unable to set their foot on the pitch, as their first wicket came in the 1st over. Hayley Mathews returned to the field after scoring 4 runs in 3 balls. Further, Yastika Bhatia scored only 9 runs in 13 balls.
As Nat Sciver Brunt came down to bat, she managed to score 45 runs in 33 balls with 8 boundaries. She played exceptionally well, and stabilised the performance after wickets were lost early. Harmanpreet Kaur, the Indian skipper, who also captains the MI, also scored 33 runs in 30 balls.
Amelia Kerr delivered excellent performance, after she scored 39 runs in 23 balls, with a strike rate of 170. She was run out by Grace Harris. Amanjot Kaur scored 7 runs. Further, Sajeeva Sajana remained undismissed after scoring a sparkling 22 runs in 14 balls.
Talking about UPW’s bowling side, their bowlers contributed by ceasing their opponents to a decent total. Chamari Athapaththu took 2 wickets out of 6. This helped to gain confidence and restrict the MI. Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Deepti Sharma and Saima Thakor took 1 wicket each, after giving away 34, 31 and 19 runs respectively!
As UPW came to bat, Kiran Navgire was the first wicket, as she scored 7 runs in 8 balls. The skipper, AJ Healy also scored 3 runs in 4 balls. No batter was able to score good runs! They were 15/2 in 3.3 overs, but then Chamari Athapaththu was dismissed, while batting against Hayley Matthews. Then Healy’s leg stump was uprooted by a fast and furious Shabnim Ismail.
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Grace Harris scored 15 runs. Further, the only batter that could perform well from UPW was Deepti Sharma, who remained unbeaten after scoring a superb 53 runs in 36 balls only! She tried her best to lead the team to victory, but as no other batter could contribute, the team lost. Deepti played with utmost maturity and sense of responsibility! It was a single handed effort in the midst of ruins .
Shweta Sehrawat scored 17 runs in 10 balls. Two other batters including Sophie Ecclestone and Saima Thakor were unable to score a single run. Rajeshwari Gaykwad was unbeaten, after scoring 1 run in 2 balls.
Saika Ishaque from MI was outstanding with her bowling technique, as she took 3 wickets, giving away 27 runs in 4 overs. Her skills dismantled UPW’s confidence and hope to win the match. N Sciver Brunt also bowled beautifully, as she gave away only 14 runs in 2 overs and took 2 wickets! The other 4 bowlers took 1 wicket each. They were Shabnim Ismail, Hayley Matthews, Pooja Vastrakar and Sajeevan Sajana.
