| Mumbai Indians 182-4 (20 overs): N Sciver-Brunt 72* (38); Ecclestone 2-39 |
| UP Warriorz 110 all out (17.4 overs): Navgire 43 (27); Wong 4-15 |
| Mumbai Indians won by 72 runs |
| Scorecard |
England bowler Issy Wong took the first hat-trick of the Women’s Premier League as Mumbai Indians beat UP Warriorz by 72 runs in the eliminator to reach the final.
Chasing 183, the Warriorz were bowled out for 110 inside 17.3 overs.
Wong, 20, finished her sensational spell with 4-15 from four overs.
The seamer missed out on the player of the match award, which went to Nat Sciver-Brunt for her 72 not out from 38 balls in Mumbai’s 182-4.
Mumbai will play Meg Lanning’s Delhi Capitals in the WPL final on Sunday at 15:00 BST.
Spinner Sophie Ecclestone took 2-39 for Warriorz but crucially dropped Sciver-Brunt on six, and then later became Wong’s hat-trick victim.
The Warriorz failed to accelerate at any point in their chase, slipping to early trouble at 21-3 before Wong unleashed havoc in the 13th over.
First to fall was the crucial wicket of Kiran Navgire, who looked set on steering Warriorz out of trouble with 43 from 27 balls, followed by Simran Shaikh and Ecclestone who were both bowled.
The hat-trick left the Warriorz in tatters at 84-7.
Wong’s spell, which also included the big opening wicket of captain Alyssa Healy, somewhat distracted from Sciver-Brunt, who played one of the most entertaining innings of the tournament.
The all-rounder was the WPL’s second-most expensive signing after India batter Smriti Mandhana, and proved her worth in Mumbai’s biggest test so far, after they had cruised into the knockouts by winning their first five games.
Her innings included nine fours and two sixes in a sensational display of power hitting combined with innovation, making the most of her second chance after the catch went down at mid-off at the end of the sixth over.
Sciver-Brunt added 60 for the fourth wicket with Amelia Kerr, who made 29 from 19 balls, as the pair attacked the Warriorz spinners and took 54 from the last four overs of their innings.
Live text coverage of the WPL final will be provided on the BBC Sport website from 14:45 BST on Sunday.
‘The crowd was incredible’ – reaction
Mumbai Indians bowler Issy Wong: “Nat deserves it [the player of the match award], she really held the innings together, she batted well and helped us to a big score.
“It’s all still a bit surreal, it’s been a bit of a whirlwind for the last couple of weeks.
“I was just trying to hit the stumps [for the hat-trick ball]. Sophie said well bowled, she is a good friend and she is a quality cricketer as well. It’s a bit more exciting as you know each other well. You don’t enter competitions to make the semi-finals, you enter them to be competitive and try to win it.”
Mumbai Indians batter and player of the match Nat Sciver-Brunt: “The crowd was incredible tonight. The noise when Wongy took the hat-trick was incredible, if we could bottle that energy up and take it to Sunday, it would be great.
“The wicket tonight was very nice for batting. It was very enjoyable batting out there, and I surprised myself with a few shots actually.”
UP Warriorz captain Alyssa Healy: “If we had caught Nat Sciver-Brunt on six, we could have had the match. But we were outplayed with the bat, and couldn’t get momentum at all.
“We haven’t played our best cricket today. But I am really proud of the girls. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t make it to the final.”
