Nat Sciver-Brunt’s half-century helped Mumbai Indians post 182/4 against UP Warriorz in the Eliminator of the ongoing Women’s Premier League (WPL) here at DY Patil Sports Academy on Friday.
Sciver-Brunt slammed an unbeaten 72 off 38 deliveries while Melie Kerr played a knock of 29 runs in 19 balls. For UP Warriorz Sophie Ecclestone bagged two wickets while Parshavi Chopra and Anjali Sarvani called one each. Put to bat first, Mumbai Indians started their innings with a cracking four on the very first ball of the opening over. MI openers Yastika Bhatia and Hayley Matthews rotated the strike brilliantly, not allowing the UP bowlers to settle down while whacking the loose balls on offer.
Yastika was the aggressor, smashing boundaries regularly. However, Yastika could not stand long at the crease as she was dismissed by Anjali Sarvani after scoring 21 runs off 18 deliveries. Right-hander Nat Sciver-Brunt then came out to bat. The duo of Brunt and Matthews played cautiously, slamming boundaries at regular intervals. Matthews’s enterprising knock was cut short after 16-year-old Parshavi Chopra produced a stunning delivery to send back the Mumbai batter. She scored 26. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur came out to the middle at the fall of Matthew’s wicket. Brunt then opened up, as she slammed Parshavi for back-to-back sixes and boundaries in the 12th over of the game, garnering 16 runs. Sophie Ecclestone then came up with a fine delivery to remove Harmanpreet for 14 in the 13th over.
Melie Kerr replaced the skipper at the crease. Sciver-Brunt continued her red-hot form as she slammed UP bowlers all around the ground while also stealing singles and turning the strike over. Sciver-Brunt brought up her much-needed fifty off just 26 balls, in the 16th over of the innings. Sciver-Brunt slammed Rajeshwari Gayakwad for back-to-back boundaries in the 17th over, scoring 13 runs. Kerr, however, fell prey to Ecclestone at the score of 29. New batter Pooja Vastrakar and Sciver-Brunt hammered Deepti Sharma for 18 runs, slamming two sixes and one four in the last over, to guide their team’s total to 182/4 in 20 overs.
Brief score: Mumbai Indians 182/4 (Nat Sciver-Brunt 72*, Melie Kerr 29; Sophie Ecclestone 2-39) vs UP Warriorz.
