The Mumbai Indians have been crowned champions in the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) cricket tournament after Nat Sciver-Brunt’s 60-match unbeaten streak scored a seven-stroke win over Delhi Capitals in the final at the stadium. Wankhede.
Delhi captain Meg Lanning opted to hit the bat after winning the pitch and Australia’s top captain scored her team with 35 points as the Capitals went on a modest 131-9 on Sunday.
Even that score seemed unlikely after dropping to 79-9, but Shikha Pandey and Radha Yadav broke a 27-match unbeaten streak to give the Delhi pitchers something to counter.
Mumbai lost its first two games early, but captain Harmanpreet Kaur and British all-around athlete Sciver-Brunt combined to pick up 72 points to put their team to victory.
Sciver-Brunt, the tournament’s most expensive foreign player alongside Australia’s Ashleigh Gardner, sealed victory in the final with a full run. Mumbai coach and former England captain Charlotte Edwards said she feels “on the moon” to claim the title.
The five-team tournament has been hailed as a “game changer” in women’s cricket, offering lucrative deals to attract big names.
The sale of the WPL franchise and media rights alone brought in $690 million, and the hosting Cricket Council of India arranged an impressive array of sponsors for the 22-game tournament.