Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 27 : Following her team's inaugural Women's Premier League (WPL) title win, West Indies and Mumbai Indians (MI) all-rounder Hayley Matthews expressed happiness and said that the pitches in India suit her really well.
Nat Sciver-Brunt's unbeaten half-century and tight spells from bowlers helped Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals by 7 wickets to become the inaugural champions of Women's Premier League 2023 (WPL) at Brabourne Stadium on Sunday.
"It was a great experience being in India for WPL. I always wanted to perform for the team. We have had some ups and downs throughout the tournament. I am happy that I was able to contribute so much to the team's success and that we could take the trophy home at the end," said Hayley in a video posted by WPL.
"I tried to go out there as an all-rounder. I had a good time batting and bowling. Pitches in India suit me really well. I wanted to contribute to the team's win as much as possible," added Hayley.
Hayley said that the final was a "tight game" and there was a lot of tension going on for the last couple of overs, for the last couple of minutes in the camp.
Hayley walked away not only with the title, but also with a couple of personal accolades.
She emerged as the 'Player of the Tournament' for her all-round performances that won MI the title. She won the 'Purple Cap' for taking the most wickets in the tournament, a total of 16, including a spell of 3/5 in the final. Hayley also scored 271 runs in 10 matches at an average of 30.11 and a strike rate of 126.04, with a best of 77*, which was her solitary fifty.
Delhi Capitals could manage only 131/9 in their 20 overs. Though skipper Meg Lanning contributed a solid 35 off 29 balls at the top, Issy Wong (3/42) destroyed DC's top-order. Later, Hayley (3/5) and Amelia Kerr (2/18) caused the DC batting line-up to collapse from 73/3 to 79/9. It was only a final wicket partnership of 52 runs between Shikha Pandey (27*) and Radha Yadav (27*) that helped Delhi reach a modest total.
Chasing 132 runs, MI was reduced to 23/2 as openers Hayley (13) and Yastika Bhatia (4) fell for cheap. A 72-run stand for the third wicket between skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (37) and Nat Sciver brought MI back into the match. After Harman's run-out reduced MI to 95/3 in 16.1 overs, DC posed a slight threat to MI. But Sciver joined forces with Amelia (14*) to help MI complete the chase with three balls to go and finish at 134/3. Sciver played a knock of 60* in 55 balls, consisting of seven fours.
Radha and Jess Jonassen got a wicket each for DC.
Nat Sciver emerged as 'Player of the Match' for her match-winning fifty.
Lanning finished the tournament as the leading run-scorer, winning the 'Orange Cap'. She scored 345 runs in nine matches at an average of 49.28. She scored two half-centuries and her runs came at a strike rate of 139.11. Her best score in the tournament was 72.
Brief score: Delhi Capitals 131/9 (Meg Lanning 35, Radha Yadav 27; Hayley Matthews 3-5) vs Mumbai Indians 134/3 in 19.3 overs (Nat Sciver-Brunt 60*, Harmanpreet Kaur 37; Radha Yadav 1/24).
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