WPL 2023, Eliminator, MI vs UPW blog: Sciver-Brunt, Wong star as Mumbai Indians reach final
Recap of match No 21 at WPL 2023.
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Toss: Alyssa Healy opts to bowl first
First innings: MI 182/4 (20 overs), NSB 72*
Second innings: UPW 110 all out (17.4 overs), Wong takes 4/15
Issy Wong takes the first Women’s Premier League hat-trick for MI vs UPW in Eliminato
That will be all for this blog. A fitting finale awaits us on Sunday. Harmanpreet Kaur, India and Mumbai Indians captain. Meg Lanning, Australia and Delhi Capitals captain. Two balanced sides, two of the best fielding sides. One win each in the league... hopefully we get a thriller at Brabourne.
Nat Sciver-Brunt: “Yeah I already said thank you to her (Sophie Ecclestone for dropping her on 6). She usually takes them easily, so yeah the luck of the draw”
Player of the match: Nat Sciver-Brunt
UPW 110 all out (17.4 overs): WICKET! MI WIN BY 72 RUNS! Ishaque gets on the wicket-taking party too, Gayakwad doesn’t even bother reviewing. Wanted an early end perhaps.
UPW 106/9 (17 overs): Just 2 runs and a wicket for Kalita.
UPW 104/9 (16.1 overs): WICKET! The hugely popular (going by the content posted by MI) Jintimani has her first MI wicket. Into the pitch, skids through. Sarvani b Kalita 5 (11 balls)
UPW 104/8 (16 overs): A wide for four in Matthews over and now we have a timeout, because why not.
UPW 96/8 (15 overs): No five-for but what a night for Issy Wong! 4-0-15-4.
UPW 94/8 (13.5 overs): WICKET! Superb catch by Kalita. Not long after a misfield, the Assamese youngster steps up to take a fine diving forward catch. End of Deepti’s frustrating knock, just as she started finding the boundary. D Sharma c Kalita b Matthews 16 (20 balls)
UPW 84/7 (12.4 overs): WWWONG! Hat-trick for the English pacer and this time Sophie Ecclestone is bowled through the gate. Ecclestone b Wong 0 (1 ball)
UPW 84/6 (12.3 overs): WICKET! Oh Wong on fire. That’s a superb yorker to any batter first up, through the gate. Shaikh b Wong 0 (1 ball)
UPW 84/5 (12.2 overs): WICKET! Wong delivers. Full toss, Navgire looks to go big but finds the bucket hands of NSB. Navgire c Sciver-Brunt b Wong 43 (27 balls)
UPW 84/4 (12 overs): WHAT AN OVER! Navgire backs up wanting the strike with two huge sixes down the ground off Kerr. The second, off a full toss, is a 89m hit! Second highest of the tournament now, moving Pooja a notch below. Even Deepti manages a boundary in that over.
UPW 65/4 (11 overs): Superb over by Amanjot and interestingly off the last ball, they don’t take the single. Navgire wants the strike.
Amanjot Kaur to bowl an over seam-up
UPW 63/4 (10 overs): Inexplicable from Deepti again. She cannot be doing this at No 6. Three dot balls and then a single off Matthews. Navgire promptly hits the first ball for four.
UPW 58/4 (9 overs): It has just been incredibly frustrating to watch Deepti Sharma bat, without having any affiliation to any teams. Painful to see her go slow, unable to rotate strike and keep finding fielders or hitting air.
UPW 56/4 (7.5 overs): WICKET! That, might be that. NSB has the telling blow and there will no miracle from the bat of Harris. Innocuous dismissal this, just hit straight to long on. Harris c Wong b Sciver-Brunt 14 (12 balls)
UPW 51/3 (7 overs): DROPPED! Matthews puts down a chance at long on as Navgire sent one into orbit. Ecclestone dropping NSB proved very costly or UPW, will this one prove costly for MI? Good over from Kerr
UPW 46/3 (6 overs): BIG OVER! Navgire goes hard after Ishaque and that brings UP back into the game somewhat. Harris starts the over with a four, Navgire then goes 4-4-6! Ishaque’s length all over the place under attack. 20 runs off that over.
UPW 21/3 (4.1 overs): WICKET! There were some moments of confusion in the last match too between Tahlia McGrath and her teammates, tonight it results in a massive mixup. Amanjot Kaur has been one of MI’s best fielders, and she does brilliantly to go to her left, change direction and release the throw on time. Great glovework by Yastika too and T-MAC IS GONE! McGrath run out (A Kaur/Y Bhatia) 7 (6 balls)
UPW 21/2 (4 overs): A good over for MI ends with a four for T-Mac. NSB errs on her pads, put away.
Navgire and McGrath in the middle.
UPW 12/2 (2.2 overs): WICKET! Big one early on. Healy lobs one to Harmanpreet at mid-off. The ball moved away from the batter and the MI captain made no mistake. Healy c H Kaur b Wong 11 (6 balls)
UPW 8/1 (2 overs): WICKET! The youngster does get bogged down by the pressure. Unable to put away Ishaque for five balls, she finds the fielder off the sixth. Sehrawat c Matthews b Ishaque 1 (8 balls)
Saika Ishaque now
UPW 8/0 (1 over): A four for Healy off NSB through the leg side to get going. Sehrawat must not get bogged down at the other end.
NAT SCIVER-BRUNT SPECIAL: 72* off 38 balls, 9 fours, 2 sixes, SR 189.47
NSB starts off, to Healy and Sehrawat. If UPW get a good hand from one of the Indian batters, they can fancy chasing this down.
MI 182/4 (20 overs): We were speaking about 50 runs off the last 5 perhaps, MI finished with 66 runs to go past 180. The pitch had a little help for spinners but this is a chasing venue and there could be more dew. Is this Harris-McGrath proof?
MI 182/4 (20 overs): Pooja Vastrakar gets going with a four and a six (a monster six for 87m!) and Nat Sciver-Brunt’s innings ends on 72* off 38 balls. Expensive last over by Deepti.
MI 164/4 (19 overs): BIG OVER, ENDS WITH A WICKET! Kerr hits three fours off Ecclestone. And off the last ball is caught at long. Anjali juggles but holds on for her 6th catch of the tournament (( think) Kerr c Anjali b Ecclestone 29 (19 balls)
MI 150/3 (18 overs): 170 definitely on the cards now. MumbaiKerr with a lovely sweep shot for four to pierce the gap down the leg side. Otherwise tidy over by Deepti who has kept things tight today. Kerr will be on strike for Ecclestone’s 19th.
MI 141/3 (17 overs): This is a stunning innings by Nat Sciver-Brunt. Two fours of the highest quality in Gayakwad’s over. That second shot through midwicket is something she plays so well.
Gayakwad to bowl after the timeout.
Timeout. 40 runs from the last 4 takes MI close to 170, they’d not mind that. But it all depends on NSB here. Get her out now and UPW are looking at a very chaseable target.
MI 128/3 (16 overs): What a shot, what a player. NSB’s nails an extra cover drive for four, one of the shots of the day says Mel Jones. Tough to argue. Gets to a 26-ball half century.
Ecclestone to bowl her third.
MI 116/3 (15 overs): Wonderful comeback by Harris after being hit for a first-ball four by NSB. Healy won’t a 7-run over from her part-timer now at all. MI struggling to push forward, they need Kerr to get going.
MI 109/3 (14 overs): What a moment in that Ecclestone over to as she nearly got Kerr trapped in the crease with a yorker. The ball evaded the shoes, a good review that even though wasted. Gayakwad bowls a tidy over next.
MI 104/3 (12.5 overs): What a huge moment potentially. Sophie Ecclestone with one her classic full, fast ones and Harmanpreet Kaur falls. It was around this stage of the innings Harman took the match away from UPW in their first meeting after taking a little bit to settle in. H Kaur b Ecclestone 14 (15 balls)
MI 98/2 (12 overs): BIG OVER! NSB on the charge. Two fours and a six for the English star against young Parshavi. But the spinner bounces back to trouble Harman. “She’s got the captain thinking, who will go back and write down bright young talent to watch for.” Lovely lines (not verbatim) from Harsha Bhogle on Harmanpreet Kaur not quite picking Parshavi Chopra. Good contest.
A similar pattern to the MI batting innings when these two met first. NSB taking the pressure off Harmanpreet early with some fours.
MI 82/2 (11 overs): Fantastic over from Deepti to Harmanpreet. Keeping it just around off-stump. Not even room or length to sweep.
MI 78/2 (10 overs): REPRIEVE! Harmanpreet is given out as she tries the sweep against Chopra’s turn, but the Indian captain is confident. The UltraEdge shows a spike as the ball passes the bat. Overturned. NSB finishes the over with a straight hit for four.
MI 69/2 (9.1 overs): WICKET! Doesn’t cost UP Warriorz much that controversial moment, Matthews out next over. What a moment for the teenaged spinner! Matthews c Navgire b Chopra 26 (26 balls)
MI 69/1 (9 overs): CONTROVERSY! That is an outright poor decision, I am sorry to say. Anjali has taken a low catch at long leg and UPW are celebrating a big wicket of Matthews. But this is sent upstairs and the TV umpire makes a stunning call to say it is not out. It might have just touch the tip of the grass even, not even clear it the ball touched the ground in full. But the decision has been made to say not out. Deepti Sharma, Healy and Co are unlucky.
UPW vs MI and bizarre reviews. A tradition now.
Deepti Sharma into the attack. Will MI try and go after her?
MI 61/1 (8 overs): Seems like a pattern forming. Either a boundary early in the over and then rotation of strike or vice versa. That has meant neither MI have been able to pull away completely nor UPW able to build-up pressure. NSB hits the last ball for four in Anjali’s over.
MI 53/1 (7 overs): Ecclestone into the attack and interesting to see the difference in Matthews and NSB’s approach. The former going across and sweeping, the latter using the crease more to access offside. A four for NSB and one saved by good fielding by Anjali.
MI 46/1 (6 overs): DROPPED! Oh what a moment that could be. Ecclestone is a safe pair of hands, but she can’t hold on at mid-off as NSB gets a life. Gayakwad should have had a wicket there. A four for Matthews earlier in the over.
MI 37/1 (5 overs): A lovely flick past square leg as Anjali finishes an otherwise good over with one on NSB’s bat.
Nat Sciver Brunt is the new batter.
MI 31/1 (4.2 overs): WICKET! Not the best of deliveries Anjali will bowl but UPW will take it. Pull shot, mistimed and is caught at mid-on. Bhatia c Navgire b Anjali 21 (18 balls)
MI 30/0 (4 overs): Another over with a boundary but also a fair few dot balls. Harris was gettin through a tight over with 1 run off five balls, but Matthews nails a sweep for six last ball.
MI 23/0 (3 overs): Hit over the offside twice for four! Yastika takes on Gayakwad and that shot is turning out to be quite productive for the LHB. Great over for MI.
MI 12/0 (2 overs): Some swing as we’d expect for Anjali, Bhatia rides the away-swinger to play a lofted square drive for four. Again though, UPW won’t mind a 6-run over.
Anjali Sarvani, perhaps the only seamer we will see today for UPW, into the attack.
MI 6/0 (1 over): Bhatia starts off with a superb sweep shot for four but struggles to find the gaps rest of the over. Just the four and two singles. Good comeback by Harris.
Yastika Bhatia and Hayley Matthews in the middle. Grace Harris will start off.
7.28 pm: Mitch Starc in the house in his UP Warriorz gear to back Alyssa Healy and Co. It’s captain Healy’s birthday as well.
That there is no surprises that a 16-year-old is playing in the WPL knockout is credit to how she has bowled since being given a chance. A big night for Parshavi Chopra!
Meet Parshavi Chopra, India’s U-19 bowler who was inspired by Shane Warne to take up leg spin
UPW XI: Alyssa Healy (C) (WK), Simran Shaikh, Tahlia McGrath, Deepti Sharma, Grace Harris (In place of Shabnim Ismail), Parshavi Chopra, Kiran Navgire, Shweta Sehrawat, Sophie Ecclestone, Anjali Sarvani, Rajeshwari Gayakwad.
MI XI: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Yastika Bhatia (WK), Hayley Matthews, Natalie Sciver-Brunt, Amelia Kerr, Pooja Vastrakar, Humairaa Kaazi, Issy Wong, Amanjot Kaur, Jintimani Kalita, Saika Ishaque.
(Still waiting for official word on the XIs. There are some confusing versions out there for UPW)
Team news: The one interesting aspect to look forward in terms of selections for UP was to see if Shweta Sehrawat kept her spot, or Devika Vaidya comes back. They have kept Sehrawat in the XI. Grace Harris returns in place of Shabnim Ismail. Rajeshwari Gayakwad too comes back in place of Yashasri. MI are unchanged.
TOSS: Birthday wishes to Alyssa Healy who wins the toss and opts to bowl.
6.55 pm: The toss coming up shortly... Harmanpreet Kaur finally won it after 7 straight toss defeats. Will she make it back-to-back today? Hold the press.
6.52 pm: The batting battle is going to be an interesting one in the sense that UPW are heavily dependent on their overseas stars, especially the Australian trio. But Mumbai Indians have the workload a little more spread out across the top six. In the bowling department, both teams have wicket-takers, especially spinners. Quality wise, perhaps UPW have the edge but the numbers are in favour of MI. Should be a good contest all around.
6.45 pm: “Mujhe lag raha hai iss saal kuch naya hoga,” says Neeraj Chopra on Sports 18 about his season.
6:40 pm: Hello and welcome to the live coverage of Match No 21 at Women’s Premier League 2023. It’s the first knockout fixture in the league and UP Warriorz or Mumbai Indians will be joining Delhi Capitals in the title clash on Sunday.
Alyssa Healy’s UPW took their time but made it to the top three while MI were the first team to qualify for playoffs but lost their momentum a little bit towards the backend. Today, is a fresh day. It promises to be a good contest between the sides that won one each in the league phase against each other.
The venue is DY Patil Stadium for this. Expect a raucous support for MI, who have drawn fans in huge numbers for almost all of their matches.
Photos / screenshots in the blog courtesy: Sportzpics / wplt20.com and JioCinema