Women’s Premier League: Mumbai Indians Clinch Inaugural Title
The women’s team of Mumbai Indians has finally arrived and they have done it in style. The team has not only lived up to their imaginative marketing campaign featuring that catchy song (Aali Re…), but they also lifted the first-ever Women’s Premier League title on a pleasant Sunday night in front of their vocal and passionate home crowd, which filled the Brabourne Stadium.
Chasing down a modest target set up by Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians women’s team won the match with seven wickets and three balls to spare. Despite losing openers Hayley Matthews and Yastika Bhatia inside four overs, the team managed to keep their nerves in check and produced a thrilling performance to take home the trophy.
Nat Sciver-Brunt (60 not out, 55b, 7×4) played her second successive match-winning knock in a row to take her team home. Sciver-Brunt and her captain Harmanpreet Kaur (37, 39b, 5×4) added 72 priceless runs for the third wicket. After Kaur was run out, Sciver-Brunt ensured there was no further hiccup, in the company of the Kiwi all-rounder Amelia Kerr (14 not out).
The women of Mumbai Indians have truly arrived and they did so in style. Here’s a brief summary of how the match unfolded:
Delhi Capitals’ innings
Delhi Capitals’ innings got off to a poor start against hat-trick heroine Issy Wong, who took three wickets in her first two overs. However, captain Meg Lanning (35, 29b, 5×4) played a fighting knock and managed to keep her team in the game. But Lanning was eventually run out, and there was a dream spell of off-spin from Hayley Matthews (4-2-5-3).
It took a stunning rearguard action by the last-wicket pair of Shikha Pandey (27 not out, 17b, 3×4, 1×6) and Radha Yadav (27 not out, 12b, 2×4, 2×6) to give Delhi Capitals something to bowl. Their unbroken 10th wicket-stand of 52 came off just 24 balls.
Mumbai Indians’ innings
MI’s innings didn’t have the best of starts, losing openers Hayley Matthews and Yastika Bhatia inside four overs. But Nat Sciver-Brunt played an excellent innings, pacing her innings calmly and cleverly. She was well-supported by her captain Harmanpreet Kaur, and together they added 72 priceless runs for the third wicket.
After Kaur was run out, Sciver-Brunt ensured there was no further hiccup, in the company of the Kiwi all-rounder Amelia Kerr (14 not out). Twenty one were required from the last two overs, and 16 came off the 19th, bowled by Jess Jonassen. That meant only five runs were needed in Alice Capsey’s final over. Fittingly, Brunt played the winning shot, scooping a boundary over the ‘keeper.
Summary
It was a thrilling match, and the women of Mumbai Indians have truly arrived. The team produced a memorable performance in front of their home crowd and lifted the Women’s Premier League title. With the tournament set to grow in popularity in the coming years, it will be exciting to see how the women’s teams of various franchises perform in the future.