Mumbai Indian batter Natalie Sciver Brunt plays a shot during the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024, against UP Warriorz in New Delhi on March 7, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

Mumbai Indians overcame early jitters to post a decent 160/6 against UP Warriorz in a Women’s Premier League match in New Delhi on March 7.

While Nat Sciver-Brunt (45 off 31) and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (33 off 30) added 59 off 46 balls for the third wicket to steady MI’s ship, the innings got impetus due to Amelia Kerr (39 not out off 23 balls) and rising star Sajeevan Sajana (22 not out off 14 balls) adding 43 in 4.2 overs towards the end.

MI did not have the best of starts after opting to bat as they lost both the openers Yastika Bhatia and Hayley Mathews inside the fourth over.

Both the batters were dismissed by Chamari Athapaththu as they looked to go big against the Sri Lankan off-spinner.

While Sciver-Brunt played her shots during her aggressive knock, which was laced with eight hits to the fence, Harmanpreet preferred to play the role of an anchor.

But just when the partnership was looking threatening, Sciver-Brunt was cleaned by left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad, a bowler who was punished by the batter in her first couple of overs.

Sciver-Brunt was deceived by quicker delivery, which pitched on fuller length and kept a tad low.

Harmanpreet then took the onus of upping the ante in company of Kerr, who used the long handle to good effect.

The MI skipper first swept Gayakwad to deep mid-wicket and three balls later got down on her knee to hit her for a maximum.

UP skipper Alyssa Healy made a terrific bowling change bringing in Saima Thakor in the 15th over and the medium pacer went through Harmanpreet’s defence with opening delivery.

Harmanpreet’s innings had three fours and one six.

Amanjot Kaur then spooned a Deepti Sharma delivery to Thakur to make matters worse for the Mumbai Indians side.

Delhi Capitals’ Shafali Verma plays a shot during a ‘Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024’ T20 cricket match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, in Bengaluru, on February 29, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Delhi Capitals rode on Shafali Verma’s half-century (50, 31b, 3×4, 4×6) and Jess Jonassen’s impressive all-round show (three for 21 and 36 n.o., 16b, 4×4, 2×6) to beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 25 runs here at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday.

Chasing 195, RCB skipper Smriti Mandhana put on a show in front of a packed crowd.

She took Royal Challengers past 50 inside PowerPlay single-handedly and brought up her maiden WPL fifty off 32 deliveries in the eighth over.

Opener Sophie Devine fell to Arundhati Reddy before Marizanne Kapp removed the dangerous Smriti, cleaning her up in the 12th over, putting a massive dent in RCB’s hope.

Although S. Meghana and Richa Ghosh scored valuable runs down the order, Royal Challengers fell like a pack of cards towards the end.

Arundhati sent Nadine de Klerk packing and Meghana was run out in the 19th over before Jonassen picked three scalps in the last over to restrict RCB to 169 for nine.

Earlier, a collective batting effort helped DC notch up 194 for five after being put in to bat.

An 82-run stand between Shafali and Alice Capsey (46, 33b, 4×4, 2×6) for the second wicket, where both batters struck boundaries at will, took Capitals past 100 in 12 overs. Shafali fell to Shreyanka Patil after reaching her fifty.

RCB pulled things back with two quick wickets as de Klerk removed Jemimah Rodrigues for a duck before dismissing Capsey to deny her a fifty.

Kapp (32, 16b, 2×4, 3×6) and Jonassen added 48 off 22 for the fifth wicket, providing DC a late flourish.

Jonassen clobbered Shreyanka for a four and a six in the last over, helping Capitals set a formidable target that was enough to stop Royal Challengers.