Mumbai Indians all-rounder Hayley Matthews commended her teammate Nat Sciver-Brunt after the England captain became the first-ever cricketer to score a century in the Women’s Premier League (WPL), achieving the feat on Monday against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
The 131-run stand between Matthews and Sciver-Brunt laid the platform for MI to finish with a strong total of 199. The Caribbean all-rounder arrived at this year’s WPL with the business end of the tournament approaching and is peaking at the right time.
Hayley Matthews
MI delivered a commanding performance. In a crucial match, their senior players stepped up and performed when it mattered most. Sciver-Brunt set a new record with the first WPL century, while Matthews and Shabnim Ismail tore through the RCB top order, taking the first five wickets and securing a 15-run win.
RCB’s struggle
RCB struggled early after an aggressive bowling spell, and the chase quickly fell apart in the Powerplay as they lost half their team. Richa Ghosh, Nadine de Klerk, and Arundhati Reddy fought back, with the wicketkeeper-batter scoring 35 runs in the last two overs, but the target was too high to reach. “It was definitely nice to watch from the other end when she [Sciver-Brunt] was going four after four after four. I do love batting with her. We flow off each other really well. For her to get the hundred today was quite deserving. With all the innings she has played, not only this year but over the last four years. She has probably been the best batter in this tournament. Quite fitting that she was able to get the first one,” Matthews said at the post-match press conference.
Matthews is returning from injury and a period away from the game, and the Caribbean all-rounder admitted the early part of the season tested her patience. “Coming back from injury, being away from the game for a while, I had to get back into things. In the first three games with the bat, I felt I was in a good place but wasn’t getting the results. So it was just about keeping the confidence high,” Matthews said.
‘Good understanding’
The understanding between Matthews and Sciver-Brunt was evident, with both players complementing each other’s strengths and matchups against the RCB bowling attack. She said: “I think we have a really good relationship at the crease. We are two really experienced players and I feel we certainly compliment each other at the crease really well.”
57
Number of balls needed for MI’s Nat Sciver-Brunt to score maiden WPL century
319
Runs scored by Nat Sciver-Brunt in WPL-4 with a strike rate of 154.85
10
No. of 90-plus scores registered in the WPL before Nat Sciver-Brunt’s century
1
No. of centuries scored by Nat Sciver-Brunt in T20s
8883
No. of T20 runs scored by Nat Sciver-Brunt before scoring a century — the most by a woman
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
