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Following her side's five-wicket win over Mumbai Indians, UP Warriorz all-rounder Deepti Sharma said that Grace Harris' knock played a crucial role in bringing her side back into the match and the bowling unit also delivered nicely.
Fiery bowling spells by Sophie Ecclestone, Deepti Sharma and Rajeshwari Gayakwad and a partnership between Tahlia McGrath and Grace Harris powered UP Warriorz to a five-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in their Women's Premier League (WPL) match on Saturday, handing the latter their first-ever loss in the competition. "I knew that Sophie was with me and that we could hit boundaries. We were confident that we would take it to the end and finish the game. The pitch was slightly better than in the first innings. It was skidding a little bit more. The early few overs were difficult. We executed our plans well with the bat. The bowling unit did very nicely and Harris also played a crucial role to get us back in the game. (On preparation for the game) We were just talking about how to concentrate on the positives and to play as a unit. I wanted to take the team past the finish line to ensure that we remain in the top three," said Deepti in a post-match presentation. MI is at the top of the points table despite the loss, having won five of their six matches and having collected 10 points. UP Warriorz are at the third position in the points table, with three wins and an equal number of losses in six matches. They have a total of six points. Put to bat first by UP Warriorz, Mumbai Indians was bundled out for just 127 runs in their 20 overs. Knocks from opener Hayley Matthews (35), skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (25) and Issy Wong (32) stood out in MI's innings as wickets fell consistently and no other batters touched the double digits. Sophie Ecclestone impressed with the ball, taking 3/15 in her four overs. Rajehswari Gayakwad (2/16) and Deepti Sharma (2/35) also delivered solid spells. In chase of 128 runs, UP Warriorz was left struggling at 27/3. However, a 44-run stand between Grace Harris (39) and Tahlia McGrath (38) brought back the side into the match. Ecclestone (16*) and Deepti (13*) helped UPW finish the game with three balls to spare. MI was handed its first loss in WPL. Amelia Kerr (2/22) was the standout bowler for MI. Nat Sciver-Brunt, Matthews and Wong took one each. Deepti was given 'Player of the Match' award for her all round performance. Brief Scores: MI: 127 (Hayley Matthews 35, Issy Wong 32, Sophie Ecclestone 3/15) vs UPW: 129/5 in 19.3 overs (Grace Harris 39, Tahlia McGrath 38, Amelia Kerr 2/22). (ANI)
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