Navgire and Harris Lead UP Warriorz to Victory in WPL 2024 Encounter Against Mumbai Indians
Kiran Navgire’s explosive innings and Grace Harris’s composed finish were instrumental in UP Warriorz’s first win of the WPL season, as they secured a convincing victory over the Mumbai Indians
Navgire, having broken a quickfire 57 and hurt Vrinda’s shoulder, advanced up the ranking from No. 6.
Mumbai Indians 161 for 6 (Matthews 55) were defeated by UP Warriorz 163 for 3 (Navgire 57, Harris 38*, Wong 2-30) by seven wickets.
With 21 balls remaining, UP Warriorz defeated an undermanned Mumbai Indians team in their inaugural WPL match thanks to a scorching half-century from Kiran Navgire and a stunning finish from Grace Harris.
After Vrinda Dinesh hurt her shoulder in a fielding error, Navgire moved up the order from No. 6 to bat No. 7. She scored 57 off 31 balls and put Alyssa Healy and herself on a 94-run opening partnership to put the Warriorz run chase on what proved to be an unbeatable footing.
Warriorz were able to surpass their target of 162, which was based on Hayley Matthews’ fifty, despite losing three wickets for four runs in ten balls, including two to Issy Wong in her first tournament appearance of the year. Harris and Deepti Sharma shared an uninterrupted fourth-wicket stand worth 65.
Warriorz chose to bowl first against a Mumbai team that was without fast bowler Shabnim Ismail because to a “niggle” in Bengaluru and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur due to quadriceps pain. In a rematch of the Eliminator from the previous year, they overcame a dismal fielding effort to cause Mumbai’s first loss of 2024.
Kiran Navgire Masters the Chase
Healy got off to a great start, using Pooja Vastrakar’s misplay at deep backward square leg to get the first of two consecutive fours off Nat Sciver-Brunt in the chase’s opening over.
The second was a powerful heave over mid-on. But after that, Navgire took center stage as she quickly reached 26 off just 14 balls while hitting six fours. After Navgire hit a straight six off Saika Ishaque, Healy brought up the fifty partnership with a four over cover off Sciver-Brunt. Warriorz ended the powerplay at 61 without losing, well ahead of Mumbai at the same point in their innings and the highest powerplay score of the season so far.
When Navgire lofted Matthews down the ground, the ball ripped through Wong’s hands as he ran around full speed from long off, and it sailed over the rope for six runs, perhaps dismissing him for an already devastating 42. She reached her half-century with two balls remaining, hitting a six straight over deep midwicket. But when Navgire was taken in by an Amelia Kerr ball on a length outside off that gripped and passed a recklessly swung bat, Yastika Bhatia broke off the bails, thus ending her stand with Healy.
Nevertheless, Navgire’s innings were astounding and gave her team the advantage they needed to win. Harris stepped up and struck at 222.52 after an outstanding 37 not out from 17 balls. With her undefeated 27 off 20, Deepti provided her with good support.
Hayley Matthews Exhibits Her Class
The Mumbai Indians took the lead when Matthews muscled Harris’s eighth delivery of the match over extra cover. The ball drifted to the boundary rope. Warriorz were under pressure after giving up just eight runs in the first three overs when Bhatia came into the game and hit Anjali Sarvani, who was replacing spinner Gouher Sultana, for three fours and a huge six over the fence.
After replays indicated that the ball was nowhere near the bat on the sixth over, Matthews had to overturn a caught-behind dismissal off Harris. Poonam Khemnar then made a catch rushing in and diving from deep extra cover, which should have sent him out for 23.
Warriorz fielded erratically, missing a lot of opportunities and giving themselves runs away with overthrows and inadequate cover. Moments later, Harris had Bhatia caught at short midwicket, breaking a half-century opening stand just as she was looking dangerous.
But after two dismal innings of 0 and 7, Matthews proved her worth. She had prodded a delivery from Sophie Ecclestone to the off side and hesitated mid-run, but she was willing to give up her wicket at 47 in a terrible mix-up with Sciver-Brunt, continuing to the danger end. However, Ecclestone chose to toss the ball back to Healy, the wicketkeeper, in order to run out her England teammate. As a result, Matthews was safe and Sciver-Brunt was out for 19 runs on 14 balls.
Vrinda injured her right shoulder in a heroic, high-speed dive that failed to rescue another Matthews boundary, and Matthews reached her fifty off forty-four balls. Shortly after, Matthews was caught for fifty-five by Harris after an outstanding catch in the deep off Rajeshwari Gayakwad.
Worst Possible Returns
Kerr came into action with four overs left, blasting Gayakwad through backward square leg for four more and over the fence at deep midwicket. As she attempted to sweep a full ball fine, Deepti pinned her on the boot after she got 23 off 16. This resulted in the inclusion of Wong, who had a fantastic 2023 WPL season but also lost her spot in the England team due to problems with her run-up.
She immediately went to work with the bat, slamming Deepti over mid-off for six on the first ball she faced in the Mumbai side for fellow fast Ismail. She scored 15 off of six deliveries to finish undefeated.
Wong was met with four fours in five balls from a rampaging Navgire, with England Women’s and Warriorz coach Jon Lewis watching. The balls went through the fielder at midwicket, over mid-off, back over Wong’s head, and beyond midwicket, with a wide making it 17 runs off her first over.
In the eleventh over, Wong came back on the offensive and took the game by storm. Ball-tracking revealed that Tahlia McGrath was stuck on the back pad in line with the top of the leg stump, so she cheaply removed her using the DRS. She had Healy caught at short third by Ishaque with a full ball outside off after two balls. With 2 for 30 from three overs, Wong finished as Mumbai’s top bowler.
