After three losses on the trot, UP Warriorz finally had something to cheer about. On a sluggish surface at the D.Y. Patil Stadium on Thursday (January 15, 2026), the UP outfit stunned defending champion Mumbai Indians with a seven-wicket victory — its first in the Women’s Premier League this season.
A couple of days ago, the Warriorz head coach Abhishek Nayar had compared the defeats with dark chocolates, which taste bitter due to their ‘90% cocoa’ content, and hoped for sweeter days ahead. And, Harleen Deol (64 not out, 39b, 12×4) and Phoebe Litchfield forged a 73-run partnership for the third wicket to chase down Mumbai Indians’ total of 161 for 5 with 11 balls to spare.
Taking lessons from their mistakes in the previous outing, Harleen and Litchfield did not press the panic button, despite the Warriorz losing captain Meg Lanning and Kiran Navgire in quick succession.
The team management, which in the previous game blundered by retiring out a set Harleen Deol and denied her a deserving half-century, too, showed faith on the India batter as she flexed her muscles, hitting a flurry of fours, after the dismissal of Litchfield at a crucial juncture.
While Nat Sciver-Brunt, recovering from food poisoning, claimed a couple of wickets, none of the other Mumbai Indians bowlers could make an impact as Harleen marched on and eventually earned the Player of the Match award.
Despite very little turnaround time, UP Warriorz came out fresh, buoying with confidence and opted to bowl – a decision which initially paid off as it managed to keep a check on Mumbai Indians until the first 12 overs, before Sciver-Brunt and Nicola Carey put their foot down and guided the team out of the woods.
Making optimum use of two reprieves, Sciver-Brunt toyed with the Warriorz bowlers en route her 43-ball-65 as Mumbai Indians scored 93 runs in the last eight overs, after struggling to score just 68 in the first 12. Despite Deepti Sharma giving it her all with the ball in the death overs, Sciver-Brunt and Carey added 85 runs for the fourth wicket to help Mumbai past the 160-mark, which appeared to be a distant dream at one stage.
With Amanjot Kaur and G. Kamalini struggling with the new ball, Mumbai could score just 32 runs in the Powerplay – its lowest of the season. And, as Harmanpreet Kaur squandered a start and fell to a stunning catch from Chloe Tryon, not many expected MI to fight back. But Sciver-Brunt and Carey held fort and guided the team to a competitive total, which in the end, proved inadequate.