Vadodara, Feb 15 (IANS): Natalie Sciver-Brunt slammed an unbeaten 75 and Harmanpreet Kaur blasted an explosive 42 but Mumbai Indians could manage only 164 all out in 19.1 overs against Delhi Capitals in the second match of the Women's Premier League season 3 at the Kotambi Stadium here on Saturday.
Despite a strong middle-over acceleration, the Mumbai Indians lost wickets in clusters, with Annabel Sutherland (3.1-0-34-3) and Shikha Pandey (4-0-14-2) leading the bowling charge for Delhi.
Opting to bowl first, Delhi Capitals struck early as Shikha Pandey removed Hayley Matthews for a two-ball duck in the opening over. The delivery swung in sharply, catching the thick edge of Matthews’ bat, and Meg Lanning completed a sharp catch at slip. Yastika Bhatia and Natalie Sciver-Brunt looked to consolidate, but the scoring remained cautious. However, Alice Capsey’s introduction in the second over proved costly, as the Mumbai batters capitalized on loose deliveries, with Yastika and Sciver-Brunt finding crucial boundaries.
Shikha Pandey returned in her third over to clean up Yastika Bhatia (11 off 9), as the left-hander missed a big shot and saw her stumps rattled. At 34/2, Mumbai were in early trouble. With Harmanpreet Kaur at the crease, MI began to pick up the tempo. Sciver-Brunt’s innovation came to the fore as she played a reverse sweep off Minnu Mani for a four, helping Mumbai Indians, winner of the inaugural edition of WPL in 2023, reach 41/2 at the end of the Power-play.
The third-wicket partnership between Sciver-Brunt and Harmanpreet added 73 runs, shifting the momentum completely. Radha Yadav’s introduction turned disastrous, as the left-arm spinner was taken apart — Sciver-Brunt started with a powerful boundary, followed by Harmanpreet slashing over point. A no-ball compounded Delhi’s woes, with Harmanpreet launching a six-over extra cover on the free hit.
Harmanpreet then went after Annabel Sutherland, cutting twice for boundaries before smashing a six over mid-wicket. She looked unstoppable, but fell for 42 off 22 balls, miscuing a shot towards deep backward point, where Niki Prasad held on to a well-judged catch. With the skipper gone, Mumbai struggled for partnerships. Amelia Kerr (9 off 9) was run out after Sciver-Brunt's shot ricocheted off Minnu Mani’s hand onto the stumps, catching Kerr outside her crease.
Sajeevan Sajana followed scoring one run, edging behind to 'keeper Sarah Bryce off Sutherland’s bowling. Amanjot Kaur (7 off 7) showed promise, hitting a four off Capsey, but was cleaned up after charging down the track.
Despite wickets falling around her, Sciver-Brunt brought up a well-deserved fifty with a cover drive and continued finding the boundary, hammering a wider ball down the ground. However, she ran out of support as wickets tumbled at the other end.
The final two overs saw MI collapse completely. Shafali Verma’s sharp throw resulted in Jintimani Kalita’s run-out for just 1 off 1 ball. Moments later, Sutherland got a fingertip to a Sciver-Brunt shot, and Shikha Pandey ran out Shabnim Ismail before she could even face a ball. Sutherland wrapped things up in the 19th over, clean bowling Saika Ishaque for a duck, as MI were all out for 164 with five balls to spare.
Despite Sciver-Brunt’s unbeaten 80 off 59 balls, Delhi Capitals finished strong, taking six wickets for just 35 runs, ensuring Mumbai couldn't fully capitalise on their strong middle phase.
Brief scores:
Mumbai Indians 164 all out in 19.1 overs (Nat Sciver-Brunt 80 not out, Harmanpreet Kaur 42; Annabel Sutherland 3-34, Sikha Pandey 2-14) against Delhi Capitals