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And so, there were two - Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians. They will lock horns in the summit clash at the Brabourne Stadium on Sunday. You sure don't want to miss out on our coverage of that contest alright so you know where to return for the same - this very platform named Sportskeeda! Until then of course, do keep yourselves updated with all the other cricketing news and action from around the globe on this very site. We hope you enjoyed our coverage of this contest and we can't thank you enough for joining us. For the moment though, this is the duo of Pratyush Rohra and Sooryanarayanan Sesha taking your leave. Wishing you a fabulous weekend ahead - good night, and see you on Sunday!
You had to witness the spectacle on display today from Natalie Sciver-Brunt. Cometh the hour, cometh the champion as they say and didn't she step up or what!
So that is it - the Mumbai Indians have managed to coast into the final and are just one more impressive performance away from claiming the inaugural Women's Premier League trophy. Of course, the Delhi Capitals have earned the right to be there in that final themselves and without a doubt, we will see the two most deserving teams and standout performers battle it out for ultimate glory. Spare a moment though for the UP Warriorz - they've thoroughly entertained throughout this tournament when it all began with that stupendous Grace Harris blitz against the Gujarat Giants. Not to be for them today or this year, but they will have a lot of positives to take out of this tournament and build upon heading into next year.
Natalie Sciver-Brunt is the Player of the Match. Here is what she has to say: The crowd was incredible tonight. The noise when Wongy was steaming in to bowl was brilliant. The wicket tonight was very nice for batting and I knew we would need a very good score to defend it. It was a very enjoyable batting out there today. I probably surprised myself with a few shots today. (On the dropping catch) I have said thank you for dropping me. She (Ecclestone) would usually take those. (Bowling in the powerplay) I'm really enjoying it. It swung nicely out here. When you come up against the opening batters, they want to take you down. So, that's a great challenge. I'm really excited to make it to the final with this team and hopefully, we can get over the line. We start on zero. We'll see how we go from there.
Harmanpreet Kaur (Mumbai Indians captain): We have a very decent bowing attack and we knew that anybody can take those wickets today so we were very positive today. Wongy is always very excited when she comes on to bowl. Very happy for her. (On Sciver-Brunt) She's someone who can take us through in any game and I'm really happy she got some runs today. (On the run out of Tahlia McGrath) We have a lot of young girls and they do well with their fielding. That was a crucial point in the game. They have a very positive energy. Whenever we talk to them they are ready to do the job. (On the final) They (DC) are a very good side and we just want to enjoy the final.
Issy Wong: Nat deserves it [Player of the Match]. She really held that innings together. We got a big total on the board and were able to defend that. It's all been a bit surreal. A whirlwind of a couple of weeks. I've put in some hard yards in the gym and back home. To come out here and for it to pay off, feels amazing. Under lights here we know it swung all tournament. We had swing going a lot later into the innings. We knew if we look after the ball and get the seam upright, we've got a chance to do something. (Hat-trick ball) I was just trying to hit the stumps. Soph (Ecclestone) got the better of me last time so I was just trying to go in the slot. She's a good friend and a quality cricketer. It's a good challenge to play against guys you train and it gets exciting as well. (FInals) The job's not done. You don't enter competitions to play finals. You enter competitions to win trophies and that's what we're looking to do as a group
Alyssa Healy (UP Warriorz captain): (Would she change her decision at the toss?) No, no way. We catch Nat Sciver on 6 and that game could be something else. We backed our strengths but we were outplayed tonight. We never managed to get some momentum. (On the controversial catch) I can't comment too much, I'll probably get fined. Only when we slow it down, it looks different. Anjali claimed it and it looked good. We have been backing our strength throughout the tournament and have managed to hang in there. We haven't played our best cricket throughout and we couldn't get the ascendancy going in the batting or the bowling department today. The two best teams are in the final on Sunday. I'm proud of the girls for really giving it a crack. For our group, it wasn't about lifting the trophy in year one. It's not all about that. Of course, it would be nice to win, don't get me wrong. But as a new franchise, no one was talking about the UP Warriorz and we did that well. What we've got in this franchise has been pretty special and we'll be back next year. Hopefully, these girls understand that and we can get back better. This a fantastic group and Kiran is great. Looking forward to what she could do in Indian colors.
Match Summary: Mumbai Indians beat UP Warriorz by 72 runs to qualify for the final of WPL 2023.
Natalie Sciver-Brunt 72* (38) | Issy Wong 4/15 (4) Kiran Navgire 43 (27) | Sophie Ecclestone 2/39 (4)
Dominance from start to finish with the only exception being Harmanpreet Kaur losing the toss. Of course, the Mumbai Indians are used to both facets and once again, they've turned in a highly professional performance to waltz into the summit clash of the inaugural Women's Premier League season. It was all on the back of a Natalie Sciver-Brunt masterclass with the bat that powered them to a total of 182, which was a massive one for the occasion.
Chasing 183 with dew setting in, the Warriorz would have fancied their chances. However, Kiran Navgire was the only batter who turned in a noteworthy show, with the rest crumbling like a pack of cards. Young Shweta Sehrawat was tied down completely before Saika Ishaque prized her out en route to a wicket maiden. Once Alyssa Healy failed to convert a decent start into a big one, it spelled doom for the Warriorz, before matters just got worse with the run out of Tahlia McGrath.
Grace Harris joined Navgire in the middle with the duo looking to launch a counter-attack. When the latter was given a reprieve on the field by Hayley Matthews, she was keen to make the opposition pay as she unleashed quite a few monstrous hits over the fence. Harris' dismissal brought Deepti Sharma to the middle but her woes with the bat continued. So much so that they didn't run a single off the last ball of an over, only to ensure Navgire would take strike first up in the over that followed.
The game was just about up for grabs with Navgire going hammer and tongs but once Issy Wong returned to the attack, she shut the game for good in grand style. While an innocuous full toss got the better of Navgire, she followed it up with a couple of superb deliveries to claim the first hat-trick in WPL history. There was simply no looking back thereafter, with Jintimani Kalita also rolling her arm over and striking off the very first delivery she sent down. It was a poetic summary of everything that could have gone well for MI and an equally sorry picture for the Warriorz, whose campaign comes to a close now. And in just about 48 hours' time, we will know who will write their name into history as winners of the inaugural WPL season. For now though, do stick around for the presentation...
Plumb with a capital P. Rajeshwari Gayakwad hasn't even gone for it - that's quite a surprise even if the game is done for all practical purposes. But what a show this has been by MI. They've bossed this from start to finish and the inaugural WPL final lineup is ready - it's the Delhi Capitals versus the Mumbai Indians at the Brabourne Stadium on Sunday!
17.4 Saika Ishaque to Rajeshwari Gayakwad, STIFLED APPEALS AND THE FINGER GOES UP! Rajeshwari doesn't even bother reviewing it. It was another arm ball that slid in and skidded through to crash into the pads as Gayakwad played across the line. That was on the pathway to plumbness. Mumbai Indians win by 72 runs and set up a final against the Delhi Capitals on Sunday evening!
Rajeshwari Gayakwad lbw b Saika Ishaque 5 (9b, 1x4, 0x6)
17.3 Saika Ishaque to Rajeshwari Gayakwad, arm ball sliding into the right-hander. Gayakwad attempts the swivel-pull, only to skew a thick inside edge onto the pads, no run
17.2 Saika Ishaque to Rajeshwari Gayakwad, on the good length outside off. Gayakwad stays in her crease to stab it to point, no run
17.1 Saika Ishaque to Rajeshwari Gayakwad, FOUR! Into the pitch but there was width on offer there. Gayakwad hangs back to cut this past backward point to find the boundary ropes
Saika Ishaque [2.0-1-20-1] is back into the attack. Around the wicket.
Not a bad idea at all to have Kalita roll her arm over. You never know what kind of role she might have to play to that end in the summit clash. Props to Harmanpreet Kaur who has been spot on with her tactics today.
17
overs
106/9score
W
0
1wd
0
1wd
0
0
0
runs
Parshavi Chopra*
0(5)
Rajeshwari Gayakwad
1(5)
Jintimani Kalita
1/2
16.6 Jintimani Kalita to Parshavi Chopra, on the good length outside the off-stump. Bunted towards wide mid-off but there's no run there
16.5 Jintimani Kalita to Parshavi Chopra, OH! Good length delivery outside the off-stump. Parshavi wafts and misses, no run
16.4 Jintimani Kalita to Parshavi Chopra, pitched up on the middle stump. Parshavi hangs back to shovel it out to mid-on, no run
16.4 Jintimani Kalita to Parshavi Chopra, wide. Dug in short and wide outside the off-stump line. That'll have to be reloaded
16.3 Jintimani Kalita to Parshavi Chopra, full length on the off-stump line. Parshavi pushes it back to the bowler, no run
16.3 Jintimani Kalita to Parshavi Chopra, at the back of a length wide outside the off-stump. It was the slower one. Been given as a wide.