Nat Sciver-Brunt’s impressive performance led Mumbai Indians to the top of the table with an eight-wicket victory over UP Warriorz in Bengaluru. Her all-round skills were on full display as she claimed three wickets and then went on to score an unbeaten 75 off just 44 deliveries, helping her team easily chase down the target of 143 with 18 balls to spare.
Warriorz started strong with Grace Harris’ quick 45 and Vrinda Dinesh’s steady 33, but their momentum faltered as they lost eight wickets for only 54 additional runs. As a result, their final score fell below expectations.
Sciver-Brunt and Hayley Matthews formed a strong partnership of 133 runs for the second wicket, smoothly guiding the team to victory. Despite a shaky start, Matthews managed to score 59 runs off 50 balls, while Sciver-Brunt’s aggressive batting quickly propelled MI to their third win in four matches. Warriorz have now moved up to fourth place on the points table with two victories out of five games.
Sciver-Brunt has surpassed Ellyse Perry’s 235 runs to become the top scorer of this WPL, having accumulated a total of 254 runs in four matches.
Nat Sciver-Brunt was in top form, leading Mumbai Indians to the top of the table with a dominant performance against UP Warriorz in Bengaluru. The all-rounder took three wickets and capped it off with an unbeaten 75 runs off just 44 deliveries, helping her team chase down the target of 143 with ease and finishing the game with 18 balls to spare.
Warriorz were propelled initially by the quickfire 45 from Grace Harris and the solid 33 from Vrinda Dinesh, however they then suffered a collapse, losing eight wickets for only 54 runs. This resulted in an ultimately below-par total.
Sciver-Brunt and Hayley Matthews formed an impressive partnership of 133 runs for the second wicket, making the chase appear effortless. Despite initially struggling, Matthews managed to score 59 runs off 50 balls with some luck on her side. Sciver-Brunt’s batting was filled with boundaries, leading MI to their third victory in four matches. Currently, Warriorz are ranked fourth on the points table with two wins out of five games played.
Sciver-Brunt has surpassed Ellyse Perry’s 235 runs and currently holds the title of leading run-scorer in this WPL with a total of 254 runs from four matches.
As Harris ascends, Vrinda descends.
Following the completion of four matches, Warriorz decided to follow the lead of WBBL and the Hundred by elevating Harris to an opening position in WPL. This change came after her difficulties in the middle order, and it proved to be a wise decision as she immediately appeared comfortable and confident.
With Kiran Navgire being dismissed early on, it was left to Harris and Vrinda to anchor the innings on a pitch that presented some challenges. Together, they put up 79 runs in just 52 deliveries, providing much-needed stability for Warriorz.
Harris opened with a scoop against Sciver-Brunt and followed it up with three consecutive fours against Shabnim Ismail in the second over. She continued her aggressive approach, scoring 6, 4, 4, 6 off Matthews in the fourth over. Her shots consisted of sweeping and pulling towards square leg, hitting powerful shots to long-on, and using her wrist to split the gap between mid-on and midwicket.
Meanwhile, Vrinda – who had previously only scored 40 runs in four matches – displayed improved form and effectively supported Harris. She elegantly executed a lofted cover drive to kick off the third over and followed it up with a hook in the same over. In contrast to Harris, Vrinda confidently found boundaries with her stylish cover drives, ultimately scoring 33 runs off 30 balls.
Warriorz 81 gained their highest score in the WPL so far from the initial two partnerships.
Warriorz continue to struggle with the middle overs.
Warriorz captain Deepti Sharma had acknowledged the need for improvement in their performance during the middle overs. Unfortunately, they were unable to do so and wasted a solid start by losing consecutive wickets. This resulted in them losing control of the game as they went from 81 for 1 to 123 for 7, with 5 of those wickets falling during the middle overs and only adding 30 runs to their total.
The turning point occurred when Amelia Kerr took out Harris in the tenth over, who had been previously dropped on 44 by Ismail due to Jintimani Kalita’s fielding mishap. Soon after, offspinner Sanskriti Gupta made a game-changing impact in the 11th over by eliminating both Vrinda and Tahlia McGrath within four balls. As a result, the Warriorz struggled to regain their earlier momentum and failed to bounce back from this setback.
In this WPL tournament, their performance in the middle overs (7 to 16) has been subpar. They have suffered the most wickets (24) and have maintained the slowest scoring rate (6.72) during that period.
