Navi Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 16 : Harleen Deol's brilliant unbeaten 64 powered UP Warriorz to their first win of the Women's Premier League (WPL) season, coming out of a three-match losing streak with a commanding chase against the Mumbai Indians.
Deol was named Player of the Match for her match-winning knock and expressed her happiness after the game, saying the win meant a lot to the team.
"Feels good, happy for the team for the first win. Actually yesterday too I was batting well. As you saw today, how Chloe (Tryon) can change the scenario. I just took it that way. She's someone who can hit big but that didn't go our way. That's how I look at it," Deol said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
Reflecting on her innings, "Nothing different today. I just got a few boundary balls, sometimes it's just your day. Normal prep for me, I was batting well yesterday also, no point to keep stressing on that thing (retired out). First two games didn't go my way. I was overhitting earlier. This wasn't the wicket to do that."
UP Warriorz captain Meg Lanning praised her team's response after the early setbacks and highlighted Deol's maturity.
"Lots of positives in the first three games, not as consistent. Bounced back well tonight to beat a good MI (Mumbai Indians) team. It's been a learning curve for me and the team. We've played good cricket but not as consistently," Lanning said.
She also revealed that conversations within the camp helped turn things around.
"We've had chats on our approach. The belief and confidence was there. I had a quick chat to Deol, she took yday really well. Showed what she can do in the format, hope it gives her confidence," Lanning added.
Mumbai Indians captain Harmanpreet Kaur felt her side were slightly short of a competitive total.
"I felt 180 was par. Batting first was not easy. We did decently well in the powerplay...," she said.
Harmanpreet acknowledged the impact of the conditions and credited Deol for her knock.
"Credit to Harleen for batting well. Chasing is always better with dew, which was there today. Hopefully in the upcoming games we score better," she said.
She also spoke about the opportunity given to younger players.
"Great opportunity for youngsters to bowl. They did well with dew around even though our score wasn't enough. Harleen showed what she can bring to the team, she always wants to do well," Harmanpreet added.
UP Warriorz registered a comfortable seven-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in the Women's Premier League (WPL) on Thursday, ending their losing streak in the tournament.
After suffering three consecutive defeats, Abhishek Nayar's side finally got back to winning ways, with Harleen Deol producing a match-winning performance with the bat. Deol remained unbeaten on 64 off 39 balls, striking 12 boundaries, as UP Warriorz chased down the target of 162 in 18.1 overs.