THE Mumbai Indians are through to the inaugural Women’s Premier League Final, after they defeated the UP Warriorz by 72 runs in The Eliminator overnight. After the Indians posted 4/182 from their 20 overs, the Warriorz could only make 110 before being all bowled out in the 18th over.

Natalie Sciver-Brunt was the star with the bat, posting 72 not out and making several solid partnerships with the likes of Amelia Kerr and others. Meanwhile for the Warriorz, fellow Englishwoman Sophie Ecclestone was the pick of the bowlers with two wickets, while Parshavi Chopra and Anjali Sarvani both picked up a wicket each.

In reply the Warriorz just kept losing too many wickets too quickly, so had no chance of being able to reach the very competitive target. In the space of the 13th over alone, they went from 4/84 to 7/86 as Issy Wong ripped through the middle order.

Kiran Navgire top scored for UP with 43, but only she and three other batters – Alyssa Healy, Grace Harris and Deepti Sharma – made a double figure score with the bat. The quartet were also the only ones in their side to outscore the extras tally of eight runs.

Speaking of Wong, it really was a game dominated by the English as Wong took 4/15 off her four overs to absolutely rip through the Warriorz’s middle order. Saika Ishaque also had another great game, picking up two wickets in her 2.4 overs, which did include a maiden.

The result sees the Indians move on to take on the Delhi Capitals in Sunday’s final. These two sides have been the ones to beat all season, consistently a level above the rest of the competition. However, the ledger between the two sides sits at one apiece, so it really is all to play for.