Mumbai Indians captain Harmanpreet Kaur pulled off a sensational one-handed catch to dismiss UP Warriorz opener Devika Vaidya in their Women’s Premier League match on Saturday.
Chasing 128, Vaidya went for a drive off a Hayley Matthews delivery in the second and built a huge lead. Kaur, who was in the slip, instinctively dove and pulled a blindfold with his right hand as UPW lost their first wicket by just 2 runs.
The capture was ultimately for naught as the Warriorz broke through the Mumbai The Indians winning streak with a five wicket victory, after the Uttar Pradesh side extracted more than one tricky pitch.
THAT. A. CATCH 🔥🔥@mipaltan they wanted an early wicket and they’ve got it, courtesy of a strong catch from the captain @ImHarmanpreet 👏👏
Follow the game ▶️ https://t.co/6bZ3042C4S #TATAWPL | #MIvUPW pic.twitter.com/5ArBZjTxRq
— Women’s Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) March 18, 2023
On a surface where the ball spun a lot and also held, English star left-winger Sophie Ecclestone (3/15) led the way with her excellent bowling bowling as the UP Warriorz beat the Mumbai Indians for 127.
When MI batted, as many as 18 of the 20 overs were bowled by spinners, a WPL record.
In response, UPW faced some hurdles before competing with three balls to spare. Grace Harris (39) and Tahlia McGrath (38) were top bat contributors for UPW, while Deepti Sharma (13 not out) and player of the match Ecclestone (16 not out) also played vital hits.
Issy Wong collected the big wicket from UPW captain Alyssa Healy (8), catching her in front of the wicket. The referee on the pitch was unconvinced despite the wide appeal and MI’s move to seek a reference turned out to be the right move, leaving the Australian star with no choice but to return to the bench.
Defending a small but tricky total on this surface, MI found another reason to celebrate when Yastika Bhatia completed a fantastic one-handed diving catch behind the wicket of Nat Sciver-Brunt’s bowling alley to return Kiran Navgire for 12, so consumed 16 balls.
UPW was in trouble at 27-for-3 going into the seventh, when Grace Harris went off the mark with a cap.
Even as MI picked up three wickets quickly, they were also guilty of dropping three sacks, which proved crucial in the end.