Harleen Deol’s Redemption Leads UP Warriorz to Maiden Win

Just 24 hours after the disappointment of being retired out, Harleen Deol orchestrated a stunning turnaround to power UP Warriorz to their first victory of the season. Her clinical, unbeaten 64 off 39 balls* paved the way for a comfortable seven-wicket win over the Mumbai Indians (MI), overshadowing a valiant all-round effort from Nat Sciver-Brunt.

MI’s Tale of Two Halves

Opting to bat first, Mumbai’s start was uncharacteristically sluggish. Despite keeping wickets in hand, they crawled to 32/0 in the PowerPlay. Amanjot Kaur, promoted to open, struggled with a high dot-ball percentage despite hitting frequent boundaries. The pressure eventually took its toll:

Amanjot Kaur fell for 38 after trying to accelerate.

G Kamalini departed shortly after for a scratchy 5 off 12.

At 86/2 after 13 overs, MI looked set for a sub-par total. However, Nat Sciver-Brunt (65) and Nicola Carey shifted gears violently. Sciver-Brunt targeted Asha Sobhana, while Carey decimated Chloe Tryon’s over with four boundaries. This late surge allowed Mumbai to nearly double their score in the final seven overs, finishing at 161/5.

The Chase: Deol and Tryon Seal the Deal

The Warriorz's response began steadily, reaching 42 in the PowerPlay, fueled by Meg Lanning’s aggression against Sciver-Brunt. However, Sciver-Brunt struck back immediately after the timeout, removing both openers in a single over to leave the chase wobbling.

Enter Harleen Deol. Undeterred by the double blow, she signaled her intent by boundary-hitting from her very first delivery. Alongside Phoebe Litchfield, Deol kept the required rate under control:

Deol dismantled the rhythm of veteran Shabnim Ismail, hitting three fours in her final over.

After Litchfield fell at a tense moment (44 needed off 30), Deol reached her fifty via a boundary off a Sanskriti Gupta free-hit.

The finishing touches were applied by Chloe Tryon, who redeemed her earlier bowling figures with a blistering unbeaten cameo. Tryon’s barrage of four boundaries and a massive six ensured the Warriorz crossed the finish line with 11 balls to spare.

Match Summary

Mumbai Indians: 161/5 in 20 overs (Nat Sciver-Brunt 65, Amanjot Kaur 38; Shikha Pandey 1/25)

UP Warriorz: 162/3 in 18.1 overs (Harleen Deol 64*, Chloe Tryon 27*; Nat Sciver-Brunt 2/28)

Result: UP Warriorz won by 7 wickets.