Vadodara (Gujarat) [India], January 26 (ANI): The first-ever Women’s Premier League (WPL) century by Nat-Sciver Brunt and her 131-run stand with Hayley Matthews helped Mumbai Indians (MI) reach 199/4 in the clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at Vadodara on Monday.
It was Nat, the top run-getter in the tournament’s history, who got to raise her bat for the first-ever WPL century in just 57 balls, and after an early wicket, it was her brutal hitting with Hayley which powered MI to a competitive total. MI needs this win to stay alive in playoffs race, and another win for RCB would ease their direct entry into the finals.
After Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) elected to field first, openers Hayley Matthews and Sajeevan Sajana started off with a boundary each in the first two overs. But it was Lauren Bell who got the last laugh, trapping Sajana lbw for seven in seven balls. MI was 16/1 in 2.2 overs.
Nat-Sciver Brunt joined Hayley, and they got a boundary each against Lauren and Sayali Sathghare, but MI ended powerplay on a cautious note at 38/1 in six overs, with Hayley (17*) and Brunt (11*).
Nat eased off some pressure with boundaries against Nadine de Klerk and Shreyanka Patil, bringing up MI’s fifty in 7.1 overs.
In the ninth over, it was Hayley’s turn to take the attack, smashing two against Nadine and a four against Radha Yadav in the next. Halfway through their innings, MI was 76/1, with Hayley (34*) and Nat (31*) unbeaten. In the 11th over, she continued her assault on Nadine, first with a six over deep mid-wicket and then a four through the deep.
In Shreyanka’s 12th over, Brunt got a hat-trick of fours while Matthews ended the over with a loft over cover for four. Brunt also completed her fifty in 32 balls, with seven fours and a six. This was her fourth fifty of the season. Also, MI reached the 100-run mark in 11.4 overs. In all, this over gave away 18 runs.
RCB had to bear the Brunt literally as she hammered Radha for three fours in the next over, with 16 more runs leaking. The century partnership was up in just 61 balls.
In the 14th over by Arundhati Reddy, Hayley reached the half-century mark in 34 balls, with eight fours. In the 15th over, Lauren came in clutch, cleaning up Hayley for 56 in 39 balls, with nine fours. The 131-run stand was undone, and MI was 147/2 in 14.3 overs. While RCB’s bowlers were getting hammered, Lauren ended her spell with tidy figures of 2/21 in four overs, continuing her stunning run in the tournament.
The scoreboard continued to tick as in Sayali’s 18th over, Nat collected one four, while Harmanpreet Kaur, the skipper got two successive fours. 15 runs came in the over, taking the score to 184.
Nadine came through with a breakthrough in the penultimate over, with skipper Harman hitting the ball straight to Georgia Voll near the ropes for 20 in 12 balls (with two fours and a six). MI was 189/3 in 18.4 overs.
Nat Sciver made history, completing the first-ever century of the tournament’s history in 57 balls and how fitting it was that the tournament’s leading run-getter of all time who did it. The knock was laced with 16 fours and a six. But on the next ball, Amanjot Kaur was dismissed for just four by Shreyanka. MI was 198/4 in 19.5 overs.
MI ended at 199/4 in 20 overs, with Nat (100*) and Amelia Kerr (1*) unbeaten.
Lauren (2/21) was sensational in her four overs, while Nadine (1/40) had to face some brutal hitting from Brunt in her four over spell. Shreyanka also took 1/34 in three overs. (ANI)
