UP Warriorz skipper Alyssa Healy won the toss in an all-important Eliminator and opted to bowl first. Yastika Bhatia yet again provided a quick start for MI and was looking all set to inflict more damage on UP, but Anjali got rid of the dangerous batter with a length ball outside to get the first breakthrough. In the very next over, Sophie Ecclestone dropped a straight-forward catch, giving a lifeline to a destructive Nat Sciver Brunt (6 off 3), off the bowling of Rajeshwari Gayakwad. The star allrounder made them pay heavily for the drop chance, as she stayed unbeaten right till the end of the innings, scoring a brilliant half-century (72 off 38) and a cameo (29 off 19) towards the end from Amelia Kerr to take MI to a total of 180+ after being put into bat.
Chasing a target of 183, the Warriorz lost both their openers early, including Healy in the 3rd over of the chase. K Navgire and G Harris revived some hope in the chase for the UP Warriorz, but just as Grace Harris was setting herself up for a big finish, she fell to a match-up against Nat Sciver Brunt, who was trying to take her on. Navgire was the only batter who looked settled during the chase. The innings fell apart after the departure of Kiran Navgire, as they were bundled out for 110.
Nat Sciver Brunt’s Innings Progression
She started her innings on an attacking note (15 off 10), scoring at a strike rate of 150. In the process, she was dropped on 6 by Sophie Ecclestone, off the bowling of Rajeshwari Gayakwad, giving her a lifeline. She took full advantage of the chance given to her, as she immediately changed gears, scoring 44 runs off her next 20 balls at a strike rate of 220. Towards the end of the innings, she hardly found herself at the striker’s end, as Amelia Kerr teed off at the other end, scoring 29 off just 19 balls at a strike rate of 152. Pooja Vastrakar provided the finishing touches (11 off 4 balls) to take the total above 180.
Issy Wong Wickets Pitch Map
Chasing a target of 183, the UP Warriorz was hit by “A Wong who was on Song” last night. She became the first woman to pick up a hat trick in the Tata WPL. She bowled it on a fuller length, extracting the movement on offer off the pitch; Healy, trying to flick it through midwicket, gets a thick leading edge, lobs the ball up in the air, and the MI Skipper takes an easy catch to give Wong her first wicket of the day.
Wong tries to bowl it on the fuller length; Navgire comes down the track and takes it on the full, trying to clear the ropes, but doesn’t get the elevation right and holds out to deep midwicket. A good catch from Nat Sciver in the deep gave Wong her second wicket. She finally found her length, knocking the stumps over on successive deliveries with a yorker-length delivery to get her a much-deserved hat trick. She finished her spell with the figures 4–15, closing the door on the finals for the UP Warriorz.
Conclusion
Sophie Ecclestone dropping Nat Sciver Brunt in the 6th over of the MI Innings proved to be very costly for the UP Warriorz, and a surprise exclusion of Devika Vaidya, despite her decent performances at the top of the order opening with Skipper Alyssa Healy, proved to be a vital missing piece of the puzzle at the top of the order for the UP Warriorz.