Back-to-back days of cricket had done little to exhaust Nicola Carey's energy. She entered the press conference room stumbling and smiling on Saturday night. She had all the reasons to be happy. Two games into the season, her tournament was shaping up well.

In the opening game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, she blasted a 29-ball 40 at a critical time in Mumbai Indians' innings, and followed it up with two wickets and a catch. An evening later, she outdid herself. After scoring a 12-ball 21, she returned three wickets and took as many catches in Mumbai Indians' win against Delhi Capitals.

Those numbers read especially well after she had a rude welcome to the tournament, being carted around for three boundaries and a six by Grace Harris in her opening over of this season, which prompted her to revisit her bowling plans and lengths. Speaking of the alterations she had to make to the Indian conditions, she said, "I certainly had to tweak something from the other night, that was a rough start, that first over.

"I bowled into the wicket a bit more (against DC), which is literally what I was thinking and I guess I got a little bit lucky. It's hard to tell with how I bowl, I can't really see what's happening, but I might have done a little bit off the wicket. One of the other wickets [of Jemimah Rodrigues] was a little bit lucky to be fair, it's like an outside edge."

Maybe it's a practical assessment or possibly downplaying her efforts with the ball on Saturday, but only two days into her Women's Premier League career, she has created enough impact to ideally not have second thoughts of her utility for any team in the competition. Yet, in a way, she is aware that it won't be a surprise if she has to sit out of MI's next game, scheduled against Gujarat Giants on Tuesday.

Only a few minutes after delivering a complete all-round performance in Mumbai Indians' maiden win of the season, Carey distanced herself from personal plaudits, and spoke the words of an ultimate team player. Graciously she claimed, "I'm hoping Hayley [Matthews] gets better because I know it's great for our team as well and that's what we're here to do, play as a team and hopefully, go really deep in this competition."

By the time the conversation reached that confession stage, no one was pretending the obvious: that Carey got her opportunity to feature in Mumbai Indians' XI because Matthews was yet to fully recover from her shoulder niggle, which has kept her out of action from Mumbai Indians' first two games of the season. The moment Matthews recovers fully, in all likelihood, Carey will have to sit out of the side irrespective of how well she performs in the limited opportunities that come her way till then.

After retaining Nat-Sciver Brunt and Matthews, and buying back Amelia Kerr and Shabnim Ismail at the auction, it was fairly obvious that the defending champions were unlikely to tinker with their overseas resources; an area where they have kept their experiments limited over the first three seasons.

Fully aware of what her role is going to be in the star-studded MI squad, Carey wasn't under any illusion either when she flew down to India for her maiden WPL season. It isn't an unfamiliar challenge either for the 32-year-old Australian all-rounder, who has endured the challenge of biding her time on the bench, waiting for late call-ups, even with the national team for nearly eight years. Since making her debut in 2018, she has featured in only 50 international games.

It's not an ideal scenario for a competitive, high-performing athlete. But Carey has ensured that she doesn't let any bit of demotivation impact her performance.

"If you look at the other overseas players we've got in this [Mumbai Indians] line-up, they're world-class players," Carey admitted on Saturday. "So, I was under no illusions as to where I probably sat in that and, obviously, they've been at Mumbai Indians for a number of years now and they've done an exceptional job. What is it, two titles in three years?

"So it [approaching a competition knowing that I'm going to warm the bench, and come in only as a replacement] is pretty easy. I just prepare how I would if I was to go into a game anyway. So nothing really changes in that space and then sometimes it is the last-minute things where you're like, oh, you're in or maybe you're not, like, sort of just hold off a minute, let's see if someone's pulled up.

"But that's just the nature of these sorts of competitions. I mean, I've spent plenty of time on the sidelines where there is that sort of a thing. So you sort of just become used to it, that is sort of what comes with the gig. If you're lucky enough to get on the field and get out there, it's a lot of fun. I've really enjoyed these two games, but I'm also hoping Hayley gets better."

Matthews' absence has created some problems for MI. One of which includes pushing Amelia Kerr to open the innings. After facing a couple of challenging spells early on, she is yet to make an impact with the bat. However, Kerr's position at five has been well utilised by Carey at this point, who has made most of the opportunity that has come to her just at the right time.

"I've been lucky enough to find my way into the team," Carey admitted. "But, sadly that is because Hayley has got a little niggle. "I don't think she's too far off to be fair [from full recovery]. It'd be good for us to get Hayley back and then Melie can slot back down into a position where she has dominated for this team for a number of years."

Even as Carey hopes to see her team field its strongest XI, she is doing enough in her fleeting opportunities to ensure Mumbai Indians don't have to fret even in the prolonged absence of one of their best players.