Navi Mumbai: Captain Meg Lanning and fellow Australian Phoebe Litchfield struck dominating half centuries to set up UP Warriorz’s comprehensive 22-run win over defending champion Mumbai Indians in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) here on Saturday.
With the win, UP Warriorz stamped its dominance over Mumbai Indians in the WPL season 4 as it had also beaten the same opponent by seven wickets on Thursday.
This was Mumbai’s third loss in five matches while UP Warriorz notched up its second win in five games.
Sent into bat, Lanning (70) and Litchfield (61) made Mumbai bowling look ordinary with their impressive batting and shared 119 runs for the second wicket off just 76 balls to take UP Warriorz to 187 for 8.
Chasing 188, Mumbai struggled all throughout with its top batters failing to make it count. Openers Hayley Matthews (13) and Sajeevan Sajana (10) fell at the same team score of 23 while one-down Nat Sciver-Brunt (15) and Nicola Carey (6) were also dismissed in quick succession.
Harleen Deol, who scored a match-winning 64 not out in Warriorz’s 7-wicket win over the same opponent on Thursday, took a stunning diving catch to get rid of in-form Carey.
Mumbai was 62 for 4 at the halfway mark, needing more than 12 runs an over to overhaul the target.
To make matters worse for Mumbai, captain Harmanpreet Kaur (18) was out in the 11th over off the bowling of Chloe Tryon.
By then, Mumbai was 69 for 5 and its run chase had gone haywire. But Amanjot Kaur (41 off 24 balls) and Amelia Kerr (49 not out off 28 balls) gave a valiant late resistance with a 83-run partnership for the sixth wicket but it was too late in the day.
Mumbai ended at 165 for 6 in 20 overs to lose the match.
Shikha Pandey, who conceded just 3 runs in the penultimate over and also took one wicket, was the most successful UP Warriorz’s bowler with figures of 2/30.
Earlier, UP Warriorz’s opener Kiran Navgire failed for the fifth time, getting out in the opening over for a first-ball duck. She wasted one more chance after scores of 1, 5, 0, 10 as she attempted to drive an inswinging delivery from Nicola Carey only to see her wickets cart-wheeling.
But Australian great Lanning and compatriot rising star Litchfield made light of Navgire’s indiscretion with a stunning exhibition of aggressive batting.
Litchfield smashed seven boundaries and three maximums from 37 balls for her 61 before she was out in the 13th over at the team score of 124 for 2.
Lanning, who faced 45 balls for her 70 and struck 11 fours and two sixes, followed suit in the next over. UP Warriorz was 136 for 3 then.
Brief scores: UP Warriorz Women 187/8 in 20 overs (M Lanning 70, P Litchfield 61, A Kerr 3/28) bt Mumbai Indians 165/6 in 20 overs (A Kerr 49*, A Kaur 41)