Ruthless Kaur makes it four from four for Mumbai

A brilliant exhibition of power-hitting by captain Harmanpreet Kaur helped the Mumbai Indians make it four wins from four to extend their advantage on the Women’s Premier League (WPL) table with a big eight-wicket win over Uttar Pradesh Warriorz in Mumbai on Sunday.

The right-hander, also India’s national skipper, thumped one six and nine fours in a high-quality innings of 53 from 33 balls at the Brabourne Stadium that ensured the hosts charged to their 160-run target with 15 balls to spare.

Kaur was aided by Nat Sciver-Brunt (45* off 31 balls), the tournament’s joint most expensive foreign player, as the pair shared in a sublime unbroken 106-run partnership that came in only 61 balls to turn the game.

The end result was another domineering win for leaders Mumbai, who are looking almost unstoppable in the inaugural season of the WPL.

Before their impressive batting show, the bowling too had an opportunity to make their mark. Saika Ishaque, the leading wicket-taker in the competition, took her tally to 12 wickets with an excellent three for 33 that included the removal of Alyssa Healy and Tahlia McGrath at a crucial time.

The Australians struck half centuries – captain Healy (58 off 46 balls, 7 fours, 1 six) and allrounder McGrath (50 off 37 balls, 9 fours) – but fell at a crucial juncture leading to the UP innings tailing off at the end.

At the start of the contest, the visitors, who brought Proteas pacer Shabnim Ismail into their XI for the second time this season, won the toss and batted.

But they lost Devika Vaidya in the second over trapped leg before wicket by Ishaque for six, with Kiran Navgire following for 17 to Amelia Kerr (2/33).

The score was 58 for two at that stage in the seventh over, setting the stage for Healy and McGrath to perform. And the World Cup winners, who both hit 90s in the previous game, responded admirably with a fine stand of 82 in just under 10 overs together.

They looked set to take their side to big finish too, but the return of Ishaque to the attack erased that threat with the slow left-arm orthodox bowler outfoxing both players within the space of three deliveries to pick up her 11th and 12th wickets in the process, five more than her next challenger.

The middle and lower order then failed to fire – only 18 runs came from the final 3.1 overs as Mumbai finished stronger to restrict their opponents to 159 for six.

Yastika Bhatia (42 off 27 balls) and Hayley Matthews (12) gave their side a flying start by putting on 58 for the first wicket, before both fell within the space of three balls in the seventh and eighth overs.

Rajeshwari Gayakwad (1-33) and Sophie Ecclestone (1-30) were the two bowlers to strike for UP and that provided an opening that the visitors initially capitalised on by slowing down the scoring.

However, once they reached the 12th over, Mumbai shifted gears and Sciver-Brunt first followed by Kaur tucked into the bowling.

In the end, all the bowlers suffered, with McGrath conceding 19 in her solitary over and then Ismail going for 34 in her wicketless 3.3 overs.

MUMBAI INDIANS: Yastika Bhatia (wk), Hayley Matthews, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Amelia Kerr, Dhara Gujjar, Issy Wong, Amanjot Kaur, Humaira Kazi, Jintimani Kalita, Saika Ishaque.

UP WARRIORZ: Alyssa Healy (capt, wk), Devika Vaidya, Shweta Sehrawat, Kiran Navgire, Deepti Sharma, Tahlia McGrath, Shabnim Ismail, 8 Simran Shaikh, 9 Sophie Ecclestone, 9 Rajeshwari Gayakwad, 11 Anjali Sarvani