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Kiran Navgire, Grace Harris script Warriorz’s first win of this WPL
A blistering half-century from Kiran Navgire and superb finishing by Grace Harris led UP Warriorz to their first victory of this WPL campaign – and it was a big one over an under-strength Mumbai Indians with 21 balls to spare.
Moving up the order from No. 6 after Vrinda Dinesh injured her shoulder in a fielding mishap, Navgire smashed 57 off 31 balls and shared a 94-run opening stand with Alyssa Healy to set the Warriorz run chase off on what turned out to be an unassailable footing. Even when they lost three wickets for four runs in the space of ten balls, including two to Issy Wong in her first appearance of this year’s tournament, Warriorz could turn to Harris and Deepti Sharma who shared an unbroken fourth-wicket stand worth 65 to overhaul their target of 162, built on Hayley Matthew’s fifty.
Warriorz opted to bowl first against a Mumbai side missing captain Haranpreet Kaur to quadriceps soreness and pace bowler Shabnim Ismail to a “niggle” in Bengaluru. They overcame a sloppy fielding display to turn the tables in a replay of last year’s Eliminator, inflicting Mumbai’s first defeat of 2024.
Healy started strongly, taking advantage of Pooja Vastrakar’s misfield at deep backward square leg for the first of back-to-back fours off Nat Sciver-Brunt in the opening over of the pursuit, the second heaved with authority over mid-on. From there though, it became the Navgire show as she raced to 26 off just 14 balls with six fours. Healy brought up the fifty partnership with four over cover off Sciver-Brunt and, after a straight six from Navgire off Saika Ishaque, Warriorz were 61 without loss at the end of the powerplay, well ahead of Mumbai at the corresponding point in their innings and the highest powerplay score of the season so far.
Navgire could have been out for an already damaging 42 when she lofted Matthews down the ground, the ball bursting through the hands of Wong running round full-pelt from long-off, and sailing over the rope for six. She brought up her half-century off just 25 balls with another six immediately, over deep midwicket. But her stand with Healy was finally broken when Navgire was sucked in by an Amelia Kerr delivery on a length outside off which gripped and passed a rashly swung bat, Yastika Bhatia whipping off the bails. Still, Navgire’s innings was jaw-dropping and put her side in the perfect position to seal the victory. Harris stepped up with an excellent 37 not out from 17 balls, striking at 222.52. She was well supported by Deepti’s unbeaten 27 off 20.
Matthews rocked back and muscled Harris’s eighth delivery of the match over extra cover and, as the ball rolled to the boundary rope, the ball got rolling for Mumbai Indians. After Warriorz conceded just eight runs off the first three overs, they were all of a sudden under pressure as Bhatia joined in, smashing Anjali Sarvani – in the side for spinner Gouher Sultana – for three fours and a powerful six down the ground.
Matthews, who already had to overturn a caught-behind dismissal off Harris on 6 when replays showed the ball was nowhere near the bat, should have been out for 23 when Poonam Khemnar put down a catch running in and diving from deep extra cover, also off Harris. It was a ragged fielding display by Warriorz, who missed numerous chances and cost themselves runs with overthrows and poor backing-up. Bhatia was looking dangerous when Harris had her caught at short midwicket moments later, ending a half-century opening stand.
Matthews showed her quality, however, after two disappointing innings of 0 and 7. She was willing to sacrifice her wicket on 47 in a horrible mix-up with Sciver-Brunt, carrying on to the danger end after prodding a Sophie Ecclestone delivery to the off side and hesitating mid-run. But when the ball came back to Ecclestone, she decided to throw to wicketkeeper Healy and run out her England team-mate, meaning Matthews was safe and Sciver-Brunt was gone for a 14-ball 19. She raised her fifty off 44 balls and Vrinda hurt her right shoulder during a valiant high-speed dive in vain to save another Matthews boundary. Matthews fell for 55 a short time later, thanks to an excellent catch in the deep by Harris off Rajeshwari Gayakwad.
With four overs remaining, Kerr flicked into action, thrashing Gayakwad over the fence at deep midwicket and through backward square leg for four more. She reached 23 off 16 before Deepti pinned her on the boot as she looked to sweep a full ball fine. That brought in Wong, who enjoyed an excellent WPL season in 2023 but also lost her place in the England side amid issues with her run-up. In the Mumbai side for fellow quick Ismail, she got straight to work with the bat, smashing Deepti over mid-off for six on the first ball she faced. She ended unbeaten with 15 off six deliveries.
With England Women’s and Warriorz coach Jon Lewis looking on, Wong was greeted by four fours in five balls from a rampaging Navgire, through the fielder at midwicket, over mid-off, back over Wong’s head and beyond midwicket, a wide making it 17 runs off her first over. Wong returned to the attack in the 11th over and she made things happen. She removed Tahlia McGrath cheaply via the DRS when ball-tracking showed she was pinned on the back pad in line with the top of leg stump. Two balls later, she had Healy caught at short third by Ishaque with a full ball outside off. Wong ended as Mumbai’s leading bowler with 2 for 30 from three overs.
Brief scores:
UP Warriorz Women 163 for 3 in 16.3 overs (Alissa Healey 33, Kiran Navgire 57, GraceHarris 38*, Deepti Sharma 27*; Issy Wong 2-30, Amelia Kerr 1-34) beat Mumbai Indians Women 161 for 6 in 20 overs (Hayley Matthews 55, Yastika Bhatia 26, Amelia Kerr 23; Anjali Sarvani 1-38, Grace Harris 1-20, Sophie Eccleston 1-25, Deepti Sharma 1-40, Rajeshwari Gayakwad 1-38) by seven wickets
(Cricinfo)
The first truly heavyweight clash of this expanded T20 World Cup format comes freighted with both history and subplots. A rematch of the 2010 World T20 final at Kensington Oval, the match pits Jos Buttler’s defending champions – who are aiming to become the first team to retain the trophy – against the Australian winning machine, victors at the 2021 edition and current world title-holders in Test and ODI cricket. And that’s before you throw in the Ashes for afters.
Already there is added pressure on England, after the rain in Bridgetown led to a share of the points in their opener against Scotland (and that having conceded 90 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket in a tepid bowling display). Lose to their oldest rivals and it will leave their Super 8 prospects open to being waylaid by the perils of net run-rate calculations, or worse.
The Scotland match was the third abandonment in five suffered by England, after a rain-affected home series against Pakistan, which has clearly hampered their readiness for this campaign after almost six months without playing T20 together. It does not take much for a side to click in this format – and England looked in decent shape when they did get on the field against Pakistan – but Buttler will be anxious for things to go their way on Saturday, if only to avoid further questions referencing the team’s disastrous ODI World Cup defence last year.
Australia, under the laidback leadership of Mitchell Marsh would love nothing more than to add to the English sense of jeopardy – having helped bundle them out of the tournament in India on the way to taking the crown. Their head to head record is less impressive in T20 however, with England having won six of the last seven completed encounters, as well as that 2010 final.
Despite a wobble with the bat, Australia avoided mishap against Oman earlier in the week, the experience of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis shining through in difficult batting conditions. Surfaces in the Caribbean – not to mention those games staged in the USA – have already had teams scratching their heads; rather than the “slug-fest” England had prepared for, following a high-scoring tour of the Caribbean in December, it looks as if boxing smart may be the way to go.
Speaking of Warner, this could be the last time he faces up against England in national colours – and another match-winning contribution would likely reduce the chances of them meeting again in the knockouts. On the other side of the card is Jofra Archer, fresh from an emotional maiden outing at Kensington Oval and ready to take on Australia for the first time in any format since 2020. Can Mark Wood fire up England’s campaign, as he did during last summer’s Ashes? Will Pat Cummins be back to harass the old enemy once again? Seconds out, it’s almost time to rumble.
Cummins is set to return after being rested for the Oman game, which saw Mitchell Starc leave the field with cramp. Starc is understood to be fine and could keep his place – which would likely see Nathan Ellis miss out. Marsh is still not fit to bowl, with Australia likely to continue with the allrounder combination of Stoinis and Maxwell to give them cover.
Australia (probable XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis/Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
The one change England may consider is Reece Topley coming in for Wood, with the expectation that there will be some rotation among the seamers through the course of the tournament.
England (probable XI): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley/Mark Wood
[Cricinfo]
Once is coincidence, twice is a clue, and three times is proof.
To paraphrase Agatha Christie, that is the narrative around South Africa’s meeting with Netherlands at this T20 World Cup.
The Dutch beat South Africa at the 2022 tournament and ended their semi-final hopes in a match where South Africa appeared to be sleep walking, and then beat them again at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they exposed South Africa’s vulnerability in the chase. If they to do the treble, not only will Netherlands take the lead in Group D, but they will offer conclusive evidence of the threat they pose to Full Members, especially South Africa.
Of course, it will take some doing after South Africa’s opening performance against Sri Lanka, where they reduced their opposition to their lowest T20I total and chased it down in fairly straightforward fashion thanks to the most stable middle-order of their white-ball era. In Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, South Africa have bankers and big-hitters and, for this match, they also have the advantage of experience. They’ve already played at Eisenhower Park, and have first-hand knowledge that run-scoring doesn’t come easily;Klassen said they are prepared to use their “cricket brains” and play “smarter cricket”.
But the conditions could be good news for Netherlands, who are not naturally a line-up of big hitters and build their innings on a foundation of turning ones into twos. In other words, they tend to take a slightly more conservative approach to batting, which may work well here, but they’ll be wary of the uneven bounce of the surface and will have to come up with plans to counterattack especially against South Africa’s seamers. Their own bowlers were exemplary in Dallas and will look to build on that performance against a line-up that will likely be more proactive than Nepal’s, but who they have managed to keep quiet not once, but twice in the past. Third time’s the charm, they say.
Anrich Nortje’s stunning return to form against Sri Lanka means South Africa may not have to tinker with the bowling combination, and Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi may have to wait their turns to get a game. The batting line-up should be unchanged, with no space for Ryan Rickelton yet.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markam, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje
Conditions in New York may tempt Netherlands to include an extra seamer and they have Kyle Klein in their squad. But it could come at the expense of a shortened batting line-up and they may not want to risk that.
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Tim Pringle, Paul van Meekeren, Vivian Kingma
[Cricinfo]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
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