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The Mumbai Indians (MI) juggernaut continued in WPL 2023 as they thumped the UP Warriorz (UPW) comprehensively by eight wickets in Match 10 at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
With this win, Harmanpreet Kaur and co. have now beaten every opponent in WPL 2023 and arguably have one foot into the playoffs. UPW elected to bat first and the big guns Alyssa Healy and Tahlia McGrath stitched up a brilliant partnership. But a late collapse helped Mumbai restrict the opposition to just 159.
In reply, MI did lose a couple of wickets. But it was the brilliance of Harmanpreet and some able support from Nat Sciver-Brunt that helped the Mumbai Indians get four wins from four. On that note, let's take a look at three moments that created a buzz among fans in the game:
#3 Saika Ishaque's double-strike
Left-arm spinner Saika Ishaque once again proved her pedigree to pick up big wickets as she ended up with another 3-fer against UPW. Alyssa Healy and Tahlia McGrath added 82 runs for the third wicket and it seemed like they would cruise to a total in excess of 180.
However, Ishaque sent both set batters back in the same over and that exposed UPW's inexperienced lower middle order. They could only manage 159/6 in their 20 overs and were arguably 15-20 runs short just because of the left-arm spinner's double strike. She continues to reign supreme with the Purple Cap.
#2 Hayley Matthews' controversial DRS decision
Hayley Matthews couldn't quite make a massive contribution with both bat and ball in this game. However, she did become a part of one of the most hilarious DRS decisions one may ever witness.
Matthews just about managed to jam a delivery from Sophie Ecclestone as she yorked herself. But captain Alyssa Healy went for a review as they weren't sure whether the ball hit Matthews' boots before it could hit the bat.
While normal replays showed that the ball clearly hit the middle of the bat and then went on to the shoe, the spin vision somehow showed that the ball hit her shoe first and a spike on UltraEdge. Matthews was given out and she was absolutely in disbelief about the decision.
Interestingly, the fielding team was in disbelief too and the umpires then got together to check the DRS review once again. It was then understood that the spin vision was initially shown in reverse, something which was absolutely hilarious as well as embarrassing for a high-quality league like WPL.
Matthews survived the decision, but the DRS howler did invite a lot of criticism about the use of technology.
#1 Alyssa Healy shocked at Harmanpreet Kaur's slice of luck
Harmanpreet Kaur smashed another brilliant half-century and collected her second Player of the Match award this season. She was simply sensational in her strokeplay and Healy and co. ran out of ideas after a point.
However, things could have been pretty different had luck not favored Harmanpreet in the 11th over of the chase. She tried to flick Anjali Sarvani off her pads, but missed it and the ball clipped the leg stump. Healy ran towards the bowler in celebration, only to realize that the bails had been lit but didn't fall off.
This was arguably the final nail in the coffin for UPW as they needed to break the partnership at that point. Harmanpreet could only smile as she knew the rub of the green went her way.
You can watch the full highlights of the match here.
