Ismail’s fiery spell paves way for MI win

WHILE IT may have been the UP Warriorz spinners whose suffocating line and length restricted the Mumbai Indians to 160 in the first innings, it was the furious spell by speedster Shabnim Ismail that dismantled their run chase to hand MI a 42-run win in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) game in New Delhi on Thursday.

Two days after she bowled the fastest ball (132.1 kmph) ever recorded in women’s cricket, the South African pacer would deal the death blow to the

Warriorz run chase by the time she finished her frugal spell in the seventh over. Figures of 1-6 do not do full justice to Ismail's spell, and neither do the empty stands that witnessed it on a pleasant evening at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

In a tournament dominated by spin, the effectiveness of Mumbai’s fast bowlers, led by Ismail, has been a highlight. On Thursday, she would not rely on pure pace, instead varying her speed and finding movement – both in the air and off the deck – to apply the squeeze on the Warriorz top order. Her only wicket came with a peach of a delivery – a 124 kmph ball that nipped in past Alyssa Healy’s attempted square drive and crashed into the stumps. There were plenty of other scares too.

By the time Ismail’s spell ended, the Warriorz were on the back foot – 18-3 after seven overs. Even as the spinners took over, and seamers Nat Sciver-brunt and Pooja Vastrakar took late wickets, it was Ismail’s early jolts that were the catalyst for MI. Even the bulk of Deepti Sharma’s 36-ball 53 came after the match was lost as her team crawled to a total of 118. BRIEF SCORES: Mumbai Indians: 160/6 in 20 overs (Nat Sciver-brunt 45, Amelia Kerr 39; Chamari Athapaththu 2/27) bt UP Warriorz: 118/9 in 20 overs overs (Deepti Sharma 53; Saika Ishaque 3/27).