Last Update on: March 27th, 2023 at 04:36 pm

Former Australian Women’s captain Lisa Sthalekar has named Mumbai Indians Women’s (MI-W) Nat Sciver-Brunt as her standout player in the final of Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2023.

MI took on Delhi Capitals Women (DC-W) in the final of WPL’s inaugural season on Sunday, March 26. While batting first, DC’s slow start turned into a middle-over collapse as the Delhi-based franchise found themselves at 79/9 at the end of the 16th over. What followed was nothing short of spectacular. Shikha Pandey and no.11 batter Radha Yadav started smashing the ball around the park. The two put up a 52-run partnership in the last 4 overs, with Radha scoring 27-off-12. They took the score to 131/9 in 20 overs.

It was Hayley Matthews’ night with the ball, taking 3 wickets and only giving 5 runs in her 4 overs, taking the WPL Purple Cap in the process.

After losing two early wickets, MI looked in cruise control, with captain Harmanpreet Kaur middling every ball. Nat Sciver-Brunt was looking in fine form too. But when Kaur lost her wicket 37 runs away from the target, it looked like the match was alive again. That was until Nat Sciver-Brunt took the charge of the innings, steering her side to a victory with a 55-ball 60.

For her innings anchoring half-century, the English all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt was termed the Standout Player for the Mumbai-based franchise by Lisa Sthalekar in WPL 2023 final.

“The standout player of the WPL final has to go to Nat Sciver-Brunt. Now you look at what she has been able to do in this match but even the Eliminator. 132 runs unbeaten and she is the reason why Mumbai has progressed through… She was able to control the innings really well. She knew that she could eat up a bit of time at the start and then she will always catch up. She was able to find partners around her to go with her,” said Sthalekar.

Lisa Sthalekar says captain Meg Lanning controlled DC-W’s innings before the collapse

Lisa Sthalekar also commented on DC-W’s innings, saying captain Meg Lanning was leading the way with the bat before the innings collapsed.

A decent partnership between Lanning and Marizanne Kapp was broken when the latter got out on 18, with the score being 43/4. The Aussie captain departed in the next over with a 29-ball-35. Their wickets began the collapse that ultimately left the score at 79/9.

Sthalekar commented on Lanning opening the innings and trying to be the anchor.

“Best batter (was) Meg Lanning. There is something about her and I love the fact that she opened the batting for Delhi. She was able to control the innings so powerful… Maybe she just kept quiet and let Shafali do her thing but they were very dynamic at the top. Meg Lanning was the one that was certainly leading the way with the bat in hand.”

Meg Lanning did end the tournament with the Orange Cap with 345 runs. Nat Sciver-Brunt was named the Player of the Match for her 60, while Hayley Matthews was named the Player of the Tournament with 16 wickets and 271 runs.

Also read: “Virender Sehwag Was The Most Dangerous Player”- Abdul Razzaq Opens Up On India’s Toughest Cricketer

WPL 2023 Final: Lisa Sthalekar Names Mumbai Indians Women’s Nat Sciver-Brunt As The Standout Player In WPL Final

Lisa Sthalekar says captain Meg Lanning controlled DC-W’s innings before the collapse

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