MI win convincingly as UP Warriorz on the verge of elimination courtesy of Amelia Kerr and Hayley Matthews.
MI mounted a fine comeback with the ball to set up a win that put them a step closer to making the playoffs for a third year in succession.
Additionally, the outcome put UP Warriorz (UPW) in danger of dropping out of WPL 2025. MI took nine wickets for 76 runs, led by Amelia Kerr’s five-wicket haul, to limit UPW to 150 for nine. With six wickets and nine balls remaining, they chased the score down.
Georgia Voll’s half-century in just her second WPL match gave UPW the greatest start of the league. She scored 55 off 33 balls to establish a solid foundation after getting bowled for a duck on her debut. However, UPW was unable to capitalise, as they went from 74 for 0 to 125 for 7. Eight of the nine wickets that UPW lost were taken by the MI spinners combined.
In response, Hayley Matthews scored her second half-century of the year and helped Nat Sciver-Brunt and herself reach a 92-run second-wicket partnership that virtually guaranteed victory. After hitting a 50-ball 59 in Bengaluru last week, Matthews’ 46-ball 68 in Lucknow was her second fifty in as many games this season against UPW.
With eight points and a net run-rate of 0.267 after six games, the victory moved MI up to second place in the standings. The Gujarat Giants, who are currently in third place with six points from six games and an NRR of 0.357, will be their opponent in their upcoming game.
Last year, Shabnim Ismail bowled the fastest ball ever seen in women’s cricket. On a red-soil surface, however, the MI fast-bowling team bowled offcutters. Ismail swiftly shifted to taking pace off after attempting to soften Voll with a one-two trick early on. At first, Sciver-Brunt’s cutters were also difficult to escape.
In their sixth match at WPL 2025, UPW chose to start a third opening pair, with Voll and Grace Harris, former teammates of the Brisbane Heat, coming out. In their sixth match at WPL 2025, UPW chose to start a third opening pair, with Voll and Grace Harris, former teammates of the Brisbane Heat, coming out.
Harris closed the powerplay with consecutive fours off left-arm spinner Parunika Sisodia, who MI had called in for Jintimani Kalita, despite Voll being the aggressor. Therefore, UPW ended the powerplay on 50 without suffering any losses. For UPW, it was their best start of the season. Soon after, Voll reached a magnificent half-century with just 29 balls.
Ismail made a mistake at long-on, and Harris only gave her a six. Harris, however, top-edged her pull to short fine-leg after being caught off guard by a bouncer from Matthews, something she frequently utilises to startle the hitters. In an awkward hack, Kiran Navgire charged at Kerr and was caught for a second-ball duck. When Voll tried the scoop and failed, Sciver-Brunt delivered the final blow.
With only Deepti Sharma keeping one end up, UPW thereafter found it difficult to gain pace. When attempting to hit out against spin, Vrinda Dinesh, Chinelle Henry, Shweta Sehrawat, and Uma Chetry all fell. In their final ten overs, UPW managed just 61 runs thanks to Deepti’s 27 off 25 balls, which included just two fours.
Since MI is the WPL’s best pursuing squad, the 151-run target was not considered to present a significant obstacle. At the top of the order, however, they had a worry.
In order to open with Matthews, they forced Kerr up, but the decision did not work out. Kerr mis-swatted a back-of-a-length ball from Henry to mid-on after hitting a pair of fours.
Then, with dew helping them, Matthews and Sciver-Brunt teamed up and increased the score. During the powerplay, Deepti was observed wiping the ball with the towel. Like Henry had done before, Kranti Goud got off to a strong start and extracted enough swing for Matthews to play and miss a few. However, MI was on their way when Gouher Sultana scored 16 runs.
One of the highlights of the phase was the duel between Caribbean friends Henry and Matthews. After Henry yelled at her West Indies captain and exchanged a few amicable words, Matthews walked down the track to a short ball, sent it sailing into the deep-midwicket stands, and grinned back.
At the verge of victory, MI lost three fairly quick wickets, but Bhatia, who was in at number six, sealed the victory with a pair of fours against Voll and Deepti’s offspin. Thus, after two games on their “home leg” in Lucknow, UPW has already suffered two decisive losses.