After a comfortable nine-wicket win over the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Women's Premier League (WPL) on Monday, the Mumbai Indians' (MI) skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was most pleased about the fact that her team came up with an improved bowling performance than in the tournament opener against Gujarat Giants.
It was the second consecutive victory for the MI team.
Bangalore had a flying start as they reached 39/0 after electing to bat first. But double strikes from Hayley Matthews and Saika Ishaque meant they were reduced to 43/4. It took decent cameos from Kanika Ahuja, Richa Ghosh, Shreyanka Patil and Megan Schutt to take Bangalore past 155.
For Mumbai, Hayley was the standout bowler with 3/28, while Saika and Amelia Kerr took two wickets each as the spinners took seven wickets combined. Pacers Nat Sciver-Brunt and Pooja Vastrakar also took a wicket each.
"I think batting was the same, the bowling we did was better in the first game than today. We still did well to keep (Bangalore) to a small score. We just wanted to back ourselves and chase. Everyone in the team is just happy to do it their way and they're enjoying themselves," said Harmanpreet in the post-match presentation ceremony.
With Bangalore losing their second match on the trot, captain Smriti Mandhana promised her side would come back harder in the coming matches.
"We would have loved to put up a better performance. We were below par. Will come back harder. There were two-three batters getting 20-30 runs, and a few batters including me couldn't put up a good score. We will sit and talk and try to come up with a better performance."
In their 60-run loss to Delhi Capitals, Bangalore's bowlers were smashed for 223, while on Monday, they couldn't defend 156 as Mumbai reached the total with 34 balls to spare.
"We had six-seven good bowlers. As batters, we need to put up a good total on board. It's a pretty short tournament, we can't dwell on it. In Franchise cricket, even after two losses, we can turn it around quickly," added Smriti.
(AI image)
Smriti also praised the performance of RCB's lower-order batters, as Kanika Ahuja scored 22 and Shreyanka Patil contributed 15.
"Positive to see the way they performed," the RCB skipper said.
(With agency inputs)
