Mumbai, March 6 (IANS) After registering their second straight win of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) with a nine-wicket victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai Indians skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was pleased with how her team could keep their opponents to a below-par score.
Bangalore had a flying start as they reached 39/0 after electing to bat first. But double strikes from Hayley Matthews and Saika Ishaque meant they were reduced to 43/4. It took decent cameos from Kanika Ahuja, Richa Ghosh, Shreyanka Patil and Megan Schutt to take Bangalore past 150.
For Mumbai, Hayley was the standout bowler with 3/28, while Saika and Amelia Kerr took two wickets each as the spinners took seven wickets combined. Pacers Nat Sciver-Brunt and Pooja Vastrakar also took a wicket each.
“I think batting was the same, the bowling we did was better in the first game than today. We still did well to keep (Bangalore) to a small score. We just wanted to back ourselves and chase. Everyone in the team is just happy to do it their way and they’re enjoying themselves,” said Harmanpreet in the post-match presentation ceremony.
With Bangalore losing their second match on the trot, captain Smriti Mandhana promised her side would come back harder in the coming matches. “We would have loved to put up a better performance. We were below par. Will come back harder. There were two-three batters getting 20-30 runs, and a few batters including me couldn’t put up a good score. We will sit and talk and try to come up with a better performance.”
In their 60-run loss to Delhi Capitals, Bangalore’s bowlers were smashed for 223, while on Monday, they couldn’t defend 156 as Mumbai reached the total with 34 balls to spare.
“We had six-seven good bowlers. As batters, we need to put up a good total on board. It’s a pretty short tournament, we can’t dwell on it. In Franchise cricket, even after two losses, we can turn it around quickly,” added Smriti.
She was also happy with the lower-order producing decent cameos, with Kanika Ahuja’s 13-ball 22 and Shreyanka Patil’s 15-ball 23 being impressive to watch. “Lots of positives in Kanika and Shreyanka. Positive to see the way they performed, happy with the way they batted.”
–IANS
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