Harmanpreet Kaur could finally trump Meg Lanning as Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals by seven wickets in the final at the Brabourne Stadium on Sunday to emerge winners of the inaugural Women’s Premier League.
Issy Wong (3/42) and Hayley Matthews (3/5) scalped three wickets apiece as Mumbai Indians restricted Delhi Capitals to 131/9 after the Lanning-led side won the toss and opted to bat first.
It turned out to be a tense chase for as Mumbai were two down for only 23 in the fourth over with their openers, Yastika Bhatia and Matthews, dismissed. A lot depended on Nat Sciver-Brunt, who didn’t have a great time with the ball earlier as she went wicketless and conceded 37 in her four-over spell, and captain Harmanpreet.
The duo preferred to curb their instincts and focused on rotating the strike, going for the strokes only when the ball was there in their arc. For Harmanpreet, it was a bigger test as she needed to hold her nerves after drawing flak for her careless run-out dismissal in the Women’s T20 World Cup semi-final last month against Lanning’s Australia.
That determination seemed of taking her team through helped her a good deal. Once again, Harmanpreet was run out but not before she contributed a critical 37 off 39 balls in her massive 72-run third-wicket stand with Sciver-Brunt.
Following the departure of their skipper, Mumbai still needed 37 off the remaining 23 balls. That’s when Sciver-Brunt (60 not out) shifted gears and with the help of Amelia Kerr (14 not out), she took Mumbai Indians home and to title glory with three balls to spare.
“We were waiting for this moment for so many years. I think everybody enjoyed in our dressing room,” a jubilant Harmanpreet said later.
“It feels like a dream, not only for me but for everyone here.”
Off-spinner Matthews won the Purple cap, finishing as the highest wicket-taker (16 scalps). The Capitals captain Lanning bagged the Orange cap for the highest number of runs (345).