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Off-spinning all-rounder Hayley Matthews celebrates her third wicket during Sunday’s final. (Photo courtesy BCCI)
CMC – All-rounder Hayley Matthews grabbed three wickets to finish with Player-of-the-Series honours, as Mumbai Indians brushed aside Delhi Capitals by seven wickets to clinch the inaugural Women’s Premier League title in India on Sunday.
Playing in the final at Brabourne Stadium, the West Indies captain snatched three for five in a brilliant four-over spell of off-spin to restrict Delhi to 131 for nine from their 20 overs, captain Meg Lanning top-scoring with 35 and Shikha Pandey and Radha Yadav chipping in with 27 each.
In reply, Matthews was one of two to fall cheaply, dismissed for 13 in the fourth over, but Nat Sciver-Brunt struck an unbeaten 60 from 55 deliveries to guide her side over the line with three balls to spare.
They required five runs to win from the final over and Sciver-Brunt fittingly got the winning runs, scooping a full toss behind for four.
“I’m just pretty happy to be able to contribute to this team’s success,” said Matthews, who finished with 271 runs and 16 wickets – the most in the tournament.
“We’ve had a lot of great times throughout the tournament with a lot of ups and downs and just to go out there and contribute on both ends of the field has been brilliant for me.”
Opting to bat first, Delhi were in early trouble at 35 for three in the fourth over before Lanning led a recovery in a 38-run, fourth wicket stand with South African Marizanne Kapp (18).
Kapp’s dismissal in the 11th over opened the floodgates and Delhi lost six wickets for six runs in a stunning 34-ball collapse, to totter on 79 for nine at the end of the 16th.
Matthews was brilliant during this period. She claimed her first wicket in the 14th over, diving to her right to pouch a return catch and dismiss Jess Jonassen (2) before beating Minnu Mani in flight and having her stumped for one in her next over.
Two balls later, she bowled number 10 Taniya Bhatia through the gate.
It was then left to Shikha and Radha to salvage the innings in an unbroken last wicket stand of 52.
Matthews’s fortune with the bat deserted her, however, the 24-year-old miscued to mid-wicket to leave Mumbai on 23 for two.
However, Sciver-Brunt struck seven fours to first inspire a 72-run, third wicket stand with Harmanpreet Kaur (37) and then a 39-run, unbroken fourth wicket partnership with Amelia Kerr (14 not out), as Delhi got home easily in the end.
