Navi Mumbai, Jan 10 (IANS) Captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Nat Sciver‑Brunt struck fluent half‑centuries to lift Mumbai Indians (MI) to 195/4 against Delhi Capitals (DC) in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) clash at the DY Patil Stadium on Saturday.

Asked to bat first, MI showed greater intent than in their previous outing. Though the opener fell early, Nat anchored the innings with her sparkling 13 boundaries to hit 70 off 46 balls. She also shared a 66-run stand with Harmanpreet, who was at her blistering best to hit an unbeaten 74 off 42 balls, laced with eight fours and three sixes, and push MI to an above-par total. DC, meanwhile, bowled poorly and gave too many hittable deliveries to the MI batters.

DC had a brilliant start as Amelia Kerr’s opening woes led to her playing a loose drive off Chinelle Henry and wicketkeeper Lizelle Lee dived to her right to take the catch on her second attempt. Nat collected her first boundary by driving firmly past mid‑off for four, before pushing in the gap through off-side to pick another boundary.

The England skipper followed it up with a series of crisp strokes – swatting Marizanne Kapp for four, before swiping and lofting Chinelle for consecutive boundaries. G Kamalini opened her account with singles against Marizanne Kapp before a lucky outside edge got her a boundary. But Nat continued to accelerate – shuffling across to sweep Sree Charani twice to the fence in the fifth over.

The breakthrough for DC came when debutant pacer Nandani Sharma, after being hit for back‑to‑back boundaries by Kamalini, forced the left-hander to drive at a very full ball and was caught behind by Lizelle for 16. Nat continued to pick boundaries with precision – reverse-sweeping and pulling off Sneh Raha, before punching Charani through the gap at cover.

After getting her fifty off 32 balls, Nat punished Minnu Mani by hitting three boundaries in five balls – driving over extra cover, flat‑batting over the infield and pulled in front of square. Harmanpreet, meanwhile, broke the shackles by lifting Chinelle’s slower ball over long‑on for six before lofting the next delivery over mid‑off for four.

Nat attempted to drive Charani over extra cover but failed to generate elevation, as the fielder held a sharp catch to end a fluent 70-run knock. Harmanpreet led MI’s surge by driving Charani and slogging Sneh for boundaries, while Nicola Carey provided valuable support, striking successive fours off Sneh Rana via reverse sweep and cut.

The duo took a boundary each off Marizanne, before Harmanpreet raised her fifty by swinging a full toss from Minnu Mani over mid-wicket for six. But Nicola fell for 21 when she looked to pull off Nandani, but the ball crashed into the stumps. Harmanpreet ended the innings in style by striking Charani for four consecutive boundaries – slicing, sweeping, lofting and slicing – as 19 runs came off the final over.

Brief Scores: Mumbai Indians 195/4 in 20 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 74 not out, Nat Sciver-Brunt 70; Nandani Sharma 2-26, Chinelle Henry 1-32) against Delhi Capitals

–IANS

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