Navi Mumbai, Jan 15 (IANS) Harleen Deol struck a fabulous 64 not out off 39 balls as UP Warriorz ended their winless streak in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 with a commanding seven-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Thursday.

Deol, who was controversially retired out the previous night on 47, dominated Mumbai Indians’ bowling attack with clinical strokeplay on the off-side. She carved out cuts, drives and late-cuts with such authoritative precision and flawless timing that MI appeared helpless despite adjusting their field placements. Deol’s timing was flawless throughout, making fielding positions irrelevant as she pierced gaps at will.

Phoebe Litchfield provided steady support with 25, while Chloe Tryon hit an unbeaten 27 to ensure there were no late jitters, as UPW secured their first win of the season with 11 balls to spare, thanks to an offside masterclass from Harleen.

UP Warriorz’s chase began with Kiran Navgire surviving an lbw appeal off Nicola Carey, as the review went in the batter’s favour on the umpire’s call, while Shabnim Ismail kept things tight. Meg Lanning found her boundaries through a square drive and cut, while Kiran joined in with back‑to‑back fours off Shabnim.

Nat Sciver‑Brunt’s introduction saw Meg pull her first ball for four, and then she swept a slower off‑cutter for six. A dropped chance of Meg at the point added to MI’s frustration. But the game turned sharply in the first over after the Power-play, when Nat had both Meg and Kiran caught by Sajeevan Sajana at deep square‑leg while trying to pull.

Harleen, looking to prove a point after being retired out for 47, struck four fours in her first six deliveries, with a classy steer in the gap through the off-side against Nicola being the standout shot. Phoebe got going with her inside-out and square drives, before smacking Amelia over long-on for six.

Harleen’s onslaught continued with three boundaries off Shabnim – square drive through point was followed by a drive and a deft late cut guided past third man. Even as Harleen got more boundaries via drive and pull, Phoebe miscued a hoick to square leg and became Amelia’s first scalp of the game.

Harleen raised a fluent half-century off 32 balls with a slog sweep through square leg off Sanskriti Gupra, and followed up with drives to get two more boundaries. With Chloe hitting crucial boundaries via lofts, sweep, pull and short-arm jab, UPW finally managed to get their first win of the competition.

Brief scores:

Mumbai Indians 161/5 in 20 overs (Nat Sciver-Brunt 65, Amanjot Kaur 38; Shikha Pandey 1-25, Sophie Ecclestone 1-26) lost to UP Warriorz 162/3 in 18.1 overs (Harleen Deol 64 not out, Chloe Tryon 27 not out; Nat Sciver-Brunt 2-28, Amelia Kerr 1-42) by seven wickets

–IANS

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