Thursday, March 9, at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai, Mumbai Indians (MI) defeated Delhi Capitals (DC) in a Women’s Premier League (WPL) table-topping contest. In 18 overs, the Meg Lanning-led team was bowled out for 105 by the Mumbai Indians bowlers, who displayed a superb performance. Harmanpreet Kaur and company brought down the mark in just 15 overs, scoring 109 with only two wickets lost.
Against Delhi Capitals, Saika Ishaque, Issy Wong, and Hayley Matthews each took three wickets for MI. Meanwhile, Yastika Bhatia (41 off 32 balls) and Matthews (32 off 31 balls) put up 65 and led MI to their third consecutive victory.
Ishaque currently holds the Purple Cap, having taken nine wickets to date. Kate Cross, a WPL analyst for Sports18 and JioCinema, lauded Ishaque, a 27-year-old player. The English cricketer lauded the left-arm conventional bowler.
“She has substantially surpassed her teammate Hayley Matthews. She bowls stump-to-stump while varying her bowling angles. She bowled in the cap today; I doubt she wishes to remove it. “She’s been a fantastic find in this tournament, and it’s excellent for her (captain Harmanpreet Kaur) to have players like that throw the ball to her because she can find the breakthrough, and T20 cricket is all about taking wickets,” added Cross.
Kate Cross praises Mumbai Indians captain Harmanpreet Kaur following three consecutive victories.
Cross, 31, believes that Mumbai Indians are serious candidates for the inaugural WPL championship. The English bowler was also impressed by Harmanpreet’s leadership in all three of her team’s matches.
“Mumbai are unquestionably formidable. They appear to be complete in every respect. Early on, they dropped a few catches, which is the only criticism that can be made of their performance tonight. They have been a fantastic team to observe. Who will capture them? I’m not too certain…” Cross stated.
“To win three games by the margins they’ve had, I can’t fathom how arrogant Harmanpreet must be feeling right now; they’ve been phenomenal. The tone was created by how they bowled, specifically how Wong and Ishaque bowled. They simply had a strategy and carried it through, which is all a captain can ask for. In addition to implementing the plan, they were successful in capturing wickets,” she said.
With six points, Mumbai Indians are at the top of the WPL standings. On March 12, they will meet Alyssa Healy and the UP Warriorz at Brabourne Stadium.
