"The moment I saw that, I said the UP Warriorz are gone" - Aakash Chopra on the pitch for the WPL 2023 Eliminator

Aakash Chopra has said that he was almost certain that the UP Warriorz (UPW) would come unstuck in the WPL 2023 Eliminator against the Mumbai Indians (MI) when he saw the pitch at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.

The Mumbai Indians set a mammoth 183-run target for the UP Warriorz on a slightly seamer-friendly pitch on Friday, March 24. Their bowlers then bowled out Alyssa Healy and Co. for 110 to register an emphatic 72-run win and book their spot in the final against the Delhi Capitals (DC).

While reviewing the game on the "AakashVani" show on JioCinema, Chopra highlighted that the fate of the match was almost sealed before a ball was bowled, considering the surface on offer, explaining:

"When I saw the pitch, it was the one on which the first match was played at the DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai vs Gujarat, a high-scoring encounter. There was fresh grass on it, a little more help for the fast bowlers and none for the spinners. The moment I saw that, I said the UP Warriorz are gone."

While praising Yastika Bhatia for giving the Mumbai Indians a flying start, the former Indian opener pointed out that Sophie Ecclestone's dropped catch off Natalie Sciver-Brunt was a game-changing moment, observing:

"Yastika Bhatia started as a storm and then she got out. Natalie Sciver-Brunt was there along with Hayley Matthews and then came a game-changing moment. Sophie Ecclestone dropped a catch when Natalie Sciver-Brunt was on six. It was not a catch but the match."

Chopra added that the England all-rounder made the UP Warriorz pay for the missed opportunity, elaborating:

"After that, what Natalie Sciver-Brunt did - Nat can bat and Brunt was on a hunt. She was seriously good, fours and sixes one after the other. She was dominating and how. She stayed till the end and they reached 182."

Natalie Sciver-Brunt scored an unbeaten 72 off just 38 balls, a knock studded with nine fours and two sixes. She strung together a crucial 60-run fourth-wicket partnership with Amelia Kerr (29 off 19) after Harmanpreet Kaur was dismissed for 14.

---

"The start was not good at all" - Aakash Chopra on the UP Warriorz chase

Isabelle Wong starred with the ball for the Mumbai Indians. [P/C: WPL/Twitter]

Speaking about the UP Warriorz chase, Aakash Chopra pointed out that Alyssa Healy's side were never in the game, stating:

"The start was not good at all. First Shweta Sehrawat got out and Isabelle Wong at the other end. Wong was on song, she was absolutely brilliant. She dismissed Alyssa Healy and then came back to take a hat-trick and that was it - game, set and match."

Kiran Navgire (43 off 27) was the only UPW batter to provide some resistance. Isabelle Wong (4/15) was the wrecker-in-chief for the Mumbai Indians, with the England bowler also registering the first hat-trick in the inaugural edition of the Women's Premier League.