MI-W vs RC-W – Women’s Premier League 2023: On March 6, 2023, the Women’s Premier League saw a match between the Royal Challengers Bangalore Women’s team and the Mumbai Indians Women’s team. The match took place at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, and it was the fourth match of the league. The Mumbai Indians Women’s team won the match by nine wickets with 34 balls remaining, after an all-round performance by Hayley Matthews.
Matthews, who hails from the West Indies, was not picked up by any team during the first round of the WPL auction, which took place just before the Women’s T20 World Cup.
However, Mumbai Indians picked her up during the accelerated round of the auction. Matthews had been leading the West Indies team that had been struggling with their form, having lost 15 consecutive T20I matches, including one via the Super Over.
They managed to win their last T20 World Cup match against Pakistan, where Matthews tried to revive the faltering batting line-up by moving down the order from her preferred opening spot.
MI-W vs RC-W – Women’s Premier League 2023: Cricket Match Report
During the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Matthews demonstrated her ability to conjure up brilliance on the field, reminding everyone of her skills. Her performance not only helped Mumbai Indians secure their second consecutive win but also gave West Indies fans hope that their team would rise from a low phase.
Matthews was the player of the match for her performance. She picked up three wickets, dismissing Smriti Mandhana, Heather Knight, and Richa Ghosh, and conceded only 28 runs in her four overs. She then smashed an unbeaten 77 off 38 balls, including 11 fours and two sixes, to help Mumbai Indians chase down the target of 156 in just 14.2 overs.
Royal Challengers Bangalore, who batted first, managed to score 155 runs before being bowled out in 20 overs. Ghosh was the top scorer for them with 28 runs, while Matthews was the pick of the bowlers for Mumbai Indians. Along with Matthews, Zainab Ishaque also bowled well, picking up two wickets for 26 runs in her four overs.
In response, Mumbai Indians got off to a flying start, scoring 54 runs in the first six overs. Mandhana and Sophie Devine got them off to a good start, hitting a four and a six respectively in the first over. However, Matthews came back in the last over of the powerplay to dismiss Mandhana and put Mumbai Indians in the driver’s seat.
MI-W vs RC-W – Women’s Premier League 2023: Cricket Match Report
From there on, it was a one-sided affair, as Matthews and Nat Sciver-Brunt put on an unbeaten 105-run partnership for the second wicket to take Mumbai Indians home with ease.
During the post-match interview, Matthews spoke about her match-winning performance and how she is learning to take responsibility at the international level. She said,
“Looking at match-ups, we figured that today was one that really suited me well. After that first over, I was a bit under the pump. But [captain Harmanpreet Kaur] had faith in me to toss the ball back at me, and it worked out very well. Now that I am being forced with responsibility at the international level, it has helped me realize how to plan my T20 innings.”
Mumbai Indians head coach, Charlotte Edwards, was pleased with Matthews’ performance and said, “We were weighing up our options and thought we didn’t have enough money, but we certainly did [eventually]. This tournament, like franchise cricket, is really good for Hayley, and it’s good to see her do that in the last couple of days. [During the strategic break] I told her these are the days you need to cash in and on such grounds.”
