WPL 2023: Aakash Chopra Opines on Mumbai’s Loss to the UP Warriorz

WPL 2023: Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has opined that the Mumbai Indians (MI) were seen struggling for the first time in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2023 against the UP Warriorz (UPW) team. However, the Warriorz bundled out Harmanpreet Kaur and her team for 127 runs after asking them to bat first at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Saturday, March 18.

The Lucknow-based team then chased down the target with five wickets and three balls to spare to hand MI their first defeat of the tournament. While reviewing the game on the “AakashVani” show on JioCinema, he shared that the Mumbai Indians’ batting was found slightly wanting for the first time, saying:

“It was very difficult to stop the winning chariot. The story was that the Mumbai Indians were losing tosses but winning matches. The UP Warriorz won the toss and opted to bowl. The batting didn’t fire. We saw the Mumbai Indians struggle for the first time.”

The former Indian player further added that the likes of Hayley Matthews, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur and Amelia Kerr were not at their best of form, claiming: “Hayley Matthews scored runs but she didn’t really break free. Whether you talk about Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur or Amelia Kerr – no one scored a lot of runs. All batters were seen struggling slightly. The bowling was brilliant.”

WPL 2023: “The start was not good” – Aakash Chopra on UP Warriorz

Hayley Matthews (35), Issy Wong (32) and Harmanpreet Kaur (25) were the only Mumbai Indians batters to reach the double-digit mark. While Sophie Ecclestone (3/15) was the most successful bowler, Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Deepti Sharma claimed two wickets each as well. Speaking about the UP Warriorz’s chase, Chopra said:

“The start was not good. Devika Vaidya got out, what a catch by Harmanpreet Kaur. Alyssa Healy has not scored runs consistently. Until Tahlia McGrath was there, it seemed she will do the job single-handedly but Amelia Kerr picked up two wickets.”

While applauding Sophie Ecclestone and Deepti Sharma for taking their team to the finish line, the veteran commentator opened up on whether the former should have been chosen as the Player of the Match considering her stunning show, saying:

“Then Sophie Ecclestone comes and Deepti Sharma was there at the other end. Deepti Sharma got the Player of the Match in the end but my Player of the Match was Sophie Ecclestone.”