MUMBAI: Mumbai Indians crowned champions at the first Women’s Premier League (WPL) after Nat Sciver-Brunt’s unbeaten 60 secured their seven-wicket success against the Delhi Capitals in the final at the Wankhede Stadium.
Meg Lanning, Delhi captain, elected to bat after winning the toss, and the Australia player top-scored for her side with 35 as the Capitals managed the modest 131-9.
Even that score had looked improbable after they slumped to 79-9, but Radha Yadav smashed and Shikha Pandey unbeaten breezy 27s to give Delhi bowlers something to defend.
Mumbai lost both the openers but skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (37) and England all-rounder Sciver-Brunt combined in a 72-run stand to put their WPL team on course for victory.
The league’s expensive foreign recruit, Sciver-Brunt, and Australia’s Ashleigh Gardner, sealed victory in the last over with a paddle shot that raced to the boundary.
“Over the moon,” Mumbai coach and ex-England captain Charlotte Edwards said when asked for her reaction.
WPL tournament
“To win this is one of my biggest achievements in my career.
“They (players) played for one another, and it has been a good experience.”
The five-team WPL tournament has been hailed as a ‘game-changer’ in women’s cricket, offering lucrative deals to attract the leading names.
The sale of Women’s Premier League (WPL) franchises and media rights alone fetched 690 million dollars. The organizing Indian cricket board lined up a magnificent array of sponsors for the 22-match tournament.
