Sciver-Brunt etches her name in WPL folklore with typical clarity as she becomes the tournament’s first-ever centurion.
Thanks to Brendon McCullum’s 158, the IPL made its debut on its inaugural night in 2008. The WPL’s trajectory has been rather different. Without a doubt, it has transformed the Indian women’s game in just three years in ways that decades have not, with the much anticipated World Cup victory in 2025 being one of its most potent outcomes. However, one milestone that cricket players and fans occasionally become fixated on remained elusive.
Mandhana Smriti. Devine Sophie. Voll, Georgia. Healy, Alyssa. Mooney, Beth. Litchfield, Phoebe. All amazing hitters with distinctive styles, all deserving of the milestone, had failed miserably. Until Monday night, when the barrier was broken by another exceptional hitter who had a shot named after her.
Nat Sciver-Brunt of the Mumbai Indians was the one who caused havoc on a Vadodara surface that put her skills to make shots, manoeuvre, and take risks to the test. As Mumbai battled to stay in the playoff race, the outcome was an undefeated 100 off 57 balls that outmuscled Richa Ghosh’s amazing 50-ball 90.
Sciver-Brunt had to get past a sluggish powerplay. She instantly put pressure on RCB’s next-in-line after dismissing her England teammate Lauren Bell, who has been a constant new-ball threat. She hit Shreyanka Patil and Nadine de Klerk for 49 off their first four overs.
Sciver-Brunt skilfully played the field and used the shorter leg-side boundary by muscling two sixes towards cow corner as she squared up to de Klerk’s pace like she would an offspinner. She also had to improvise against Shreyanka’s looping offspin from the other end of the same small square boundary, frequently retreating away to smack the ball with contempt.
Sciver-Brunt unfurled sweeps of different fury for back-to-back fours to raise a 32-ball half-century, despite Shreyanka’s attempts to overcorrect to a middle-stump line. Amazingly, all of this occurred after over fifteen deliveries that showed no hint of the damage to come. Mumbai, who had reached 143 for 1 with six overs left after a measured 38 for 1 in six overs, were prepared to attack from the back end.
Sciver-Brunt had already contributed 75 at the 14-over stage. After that, a century later, it appeared to be just formality. At that point, the bowlers for RCB retaliated by bowling to the longer boundary and maintaining tighter lines. They had gained knowledge, but the harm was already done.
There was a sense of expectation throughout the final over of the Mumbai innings. Teammates in the changing area rushed to the balcony when Sciver-Brunt reached 99. Excited to see a piece of history, everyone in the dugout stood up. When the time came, she chipped an inside-out hit off Patil to long off. In an instant, a 1059-day, 82-match itch was relieved.
The ‘T’ celebration, an homage to her son Theodore, and a subdued acknowledgement to the dressing room and her partner, Katherine Sciver-Brunt, who was watching on TV from her home in the UK, emerged.
The WPL’s first century had seemed like a question of when rather than if for three weeks. In what appeared to be the most sensible way to end an innings in which control and clarity were paramount, Sciver-Brunt seized the opportunity on Monday night in Vadodara.