WPL | Kerr, Matthews on song as MI cruises past Warriorz

Hayley Matthews' half-century and Amelia Kerr's five-wicket haul lead Mumbai Indians to victory over UP Warriorz.

Hayley Matthews’ sparkling half-century and Amelia Kerr’s first five-for in the Women’s Premier League took Mumbai Indians to a six-wicket win against UP Warriorz at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on Thursday. Chasing 151, MI knocked off the target in 18.3 overs, hampering Warriorz’s hopes of making the Eliminator. Georgia Voll’s 55 for the host went in vain.

The win took Mumbai to second in the table. It has eight points after six games. Warriorz, meanwhile, stays on four points and continues to languish at the bottom of the table.

By the time Matthews mistimed a pull to be caught at midwicket for 68 (46 balls, 8x4, 2x6), she had taken her team to the cusp of victory. She was in exquisite touch prior to that solitary indiscretion, threading the gaps on the outfield routinely to ensure that MI was always in control of the asking rate.

Among her eye-catching strokes, there was a forehand slap over mid-on off a half-tracker by Chinelle Henry that carried all the way for six. She brought up her fifty off 35 balls with a cut off Deepti Sharma through point. Nat Sciver-Brunt chipped in with a 23-ball 37, raising a 92-run stand with Matthews for the second wicket.

Their stand overshadowed Voll and Grace Harris’ opening alliance of 74 for Warriorz. Voll was the aggressor in this partnership, cutting and pulling with authority.

Once the openers departed, Kerr pegged Warriorz back with a spate of wickets. Her first three deliveries on the night were dispatched for boundaries, but she didn’t shy away from continuing to toss the ball up and tease the big shot. In the 15th over, she accounted for Vrinda Dinesh at long-on and Henry at long-off in the space of three balls. She also deceived Deepti in the air to have the left-hander stumped.

The scores: UP Warriorz 150/9 in 20 overs (Georgia Voll 55, Amelia Kerr 5/38, Hayley Matthews 2/25) lost to Mumbai Indians 153/4 in 18.3 overs (Matthews 68, Nat Sciver-Brunt 37, Grace Harris 2/11).