Mumbai Indians Women vs UP Warriorz Women, 8th Match, Womens Premier League 2026 - Commentary

That winds up our coverage of the WPL for tonight. We will be back tomorrow for more. Do join us then. For now it's escape!

Harleen Deol | Player of the Match: I feel good. A first win for the team and I'm very happy. (what were the emotions last night after being retired out?) Actually, yesterday also I was batting well but as you saw today, how Chloe can change the scenario. For me I just took it in that way. Chloe is someone who can hit big so probably that didn't go our way. That is the only thing which happened. (anything different tonight in terms of the way you batted?) Nothing different actually. I just got a little boundary balls, so I could convert it into boundaries. Sometimes it's just your day - that wherever you are thinking to hit, the ball comes there, so it was that for me. (was it easy or hard after last night?) Nothing. It's just normal preparation for me. Nothing different. I was batting well yesterday also. There's no point just keep stressing on that thing. Honestly yesterday it gave me a lot of confidence in fact, because first two game didn't go my way. But then I went on and figured out a few things, I was just trying to overhit, this wicket is not something which you know for me as a batter to just keep overhitting and just more on timing based things. (stand with Litchfield) Definitely. In the first inning, I think wicket played a little role for the batters because it was hard to score runs. And then afterwards in the 2nd inning, wicket got better, ball started coming nicely on to the bat. We didn't plan too many things. We were just looking to hit and it was just coming on its own. We were just enjoying it and having some fun there. (best knock from her in WPL?) This WPL? I would definitely say yeah. When you have a score under your belt, you just feel more confident. Even though the first two game didn't go my way, I'm someone who will just look to make my team win. I will just look things, how I can contribute towards the team and that's how it was today.

Meg Lanning | UPW-W captain: Yeah, I think so. Throughout the first three games, there's still been a lot of positives. We've put together some good cricket, but probably just not as consistent as we would have liked. I think tonight was an excellent performance, bouncing back from last night to be able to beat Mumbai, who are an excellent team. So, yeah, very happy. (on them being on a losing streak) Oh, yeah, I think it's been a really big learning curve for myself and the team included. We sort of came together with a pretty good time. And as I said, we played some good cricket, but we just weren't able to nail it when we needed to as consistently as we would have liked. So, there's been some really good chats over the last few days around how we want to approach it. And, you know, there's always been a winning attitude within this team. Although the results didn't go our way in the first few games, the belief was there and the confidence was there as well. It was nice to see tonight. (on Harleen) Oh, look, I had a quick chat to her and she took yesterday really well. And to come out tonight and play as she did was really great to see. It just shows, you know, what she can do in this format. And yeah, she made it look very easy. So hopefully that gives her a lot of confidence heading into the backend of the tournament. (pleased with Harmanpreet's wicket?) Yeah, sometimes things work out as you hope they would. But you're right, the bowlers did an excellent job. I think we read the pitch reasonably well and were able to adjust to the conditions. And yeah, to keep them to 160-odd, I think was a really good effort and then allowed our batters to do their thing. (this win kickstarts things?) Yeah, I think so. You just need that to give you that bit of confidence. Obviously, we felt like we were playing some good cricket, but you do want the wins to back that up because that's what it's all about. So yeah, hopefully that's a little kickstart for us heading into the backend.

Chloe Tryon: Yeah, probably. Yeah, we were talking about me and Harleen was just talking about finishing that over. But yeah, the ball before that I hit it for six, and I said, I'm probably gonna go for another one and then it went down leg. So, yeah, we'll take the win, though. I'm really excited to be on the board. (on not getting a game for MIW in 3 seasons) Look, it was a great franchise to be part of. But yeah, it was nice to play against them today. I definitely wanted to get the win today, but look, it was really a good game for us. I think we sort of really went well with the ball. I knew at the backend it was gonna get a little bit dewy. We were struggling to hold the ball a little bit. So we just knew we had to pick up balls, and I think Harleen just played beautifully and set it up for us. (on her right elbow) I think it's gonna stick to my bed tonight, hopefully I can get some stuff to put over it. But look, yeah, I'm just happy I took that catch and a big wicket against Harman. So, you know, happy it stuck in the hands and then happy I got another one from Nat as well. It's still burning. My hand is still burning, but it's okay. Yeah, I was anticipating the wrong way and then I realized it was going the other way. So I'm happy that I got quick to it. And then hopefully I just stuck my hands out and I'm happy it stuck. (what was the mood in the camp tonight?) It's a special group. I think yesterday we played really hard. We felt that we probably didn't have enough runs yesterday, but the fact that we fought to the last over really shows the fight and the belief that we have in the group. So we just spoke about just that one percenters, just, you know, believing in ourselves, you know, reflecting a little bit from yesterday, but just making sure that we stick as a group today. And, you know, hopefully just get the win. So I'm happy that we actually stuck to our plan today. Like I said, probably in the bowling innings, it didn't really go our way in the last four overs of the match, but the way they came out and they batted and set the powerplay up first and then Harleen just finished it off there was even better. (confidence booster this win?) Yeah, I always believe that. You don't really win, you know, for the first half of the comps. So I'm just happy that we got into the board now. We got a little bit of momentum. We're playing them in the next two days. So it's a good time to just reflect on the positives and just keep building on that. Hopefully we can get another win from them in the next two days. Simple, it's just cricket you know.

Harmanpreet Kaur | MI-W captain: (what was par here?) I felt 180 or something which we were looking for because we knew batting first is not easy on this track. But I think we did recently well in the powerplay. We didn't lose the wicket, but unfortunately, runs were not enough on the board, but later on, I think Nat and Nic put us on a better situation. But I think credit goes to Harleen the way she batted today. Yeah, I mean, chasing is always better when dew is there. Today, a lot of dew was there. And I think, yeah, setting up total is something which we are really looking forward and hopefully in upcoming games, we'll come up with the better approach. (on using her other options with the ball) Yeah, I think it was a great opportunity for them to come and bowl a few overs for the team. I think they did decently well because a lot of dew was there, bowlers not, you know, gripping well, but I think even the score was not, you know, enough on the board. So I think, I think they bowled decently well, yeah. (on Harleen) Yeah, definitely. I think she's shown what, you know, why she's there in the side and what she can bring to the team. And I think today she batted beautifully and I think she's someone who always wanted to do well for her team. Yeah, surprised to see she was retired in the last game, but I think she came up with very positive mindset and I hope she'll continue that.

150-plus targets successfully chased down vs MI-W
165 - DC-W, Vadodara, 2025
162 - UPW, Bengaluru, 2024
162 - UPW, Mumbai DYP, 2026
155 - RCB-W, Mumbai DYP 2026

Harleen Deol’s 64* is the highest individual score in a run-chase vs MI-W, bettering Nadine de Klerk’s 63* in the tournament opener.

Harleen scored 25 of the 10 scoring shots (six fours) in the backward point region today. That’s the most anyone has scored in that zone in a WPL innings ever. 11 of her 21 fours in WPL 2026 have come in that region.

There have been 15 50-plus scores in WPL 2026 so far, just three by Indian players - two by Harmanpreet Kaur and one by Harleen Deol today.

Most consecutive defeats as captain in WPL
5 - Smriti Mandhana (RCB-W, 2023)
5 - Beth Mooney (GG-W, 2023-2024)
5 - Meg Lanning (DC-W & UPW, 2025-2026) - streak ended today
4 - Alyssa Healy (UPW, 2023-2024)

Highest % of runs scored on the off side in a WPL innings
78% - Tahlia McGrath (UPW) vs MI-W), Brabourne, 2023
72.4% - Meg Lanning (DC-W) vs UPW, Vadodara, 2025
71.4% - Harleen Deol (UPW) vs MI-W, Mumbai DYP, 2026
70.5% - Kiran Navgire (UPW) vs DC-W, Vadodara, 2025
68% - Harmanpreet Kaur (MI-W) vs RCB-W, Bengaluru, 2025
*min. 50 runs scored (116 50-plus scores in WPL)

22:48 Local Time, 17:18 GMT, 22:48 IST: What a chase this is from the UPW. Abhishek Nayar, the head coach hugs Lanning and the UPW contingent are all smiles. The heroine of this chase is Harleen Deol. She was retired out last night when she was batting so well - a move that caused chatter all over. After her retirement, UPW lost the plot and didn't add many. No such worries tonight. Harleen came out like a woman possessed. Especially her off-side play. It reminded one of Rahul Dravid's famous comment about Sourav Ganguly - "On the offside, first there is God, then Sourav Ganguly." The same could be said of Harleen tonight. She was that good. MIW had no answers to her cuts, drives and late-cuts. Harleen timed them so well, that one wonders if any number of fielders on the off-side would have prevented her strokeplay. Earlier, Lanning looked good after being dropped early on but she didn't kick on. The partnership between Harleen and Litchfield was key and then Tryon came out to play a superb cameo. In the end, UPW cantered to a win with 11 balls to spare. Stay tuned for the post-match stuff...

Triveni Vasistha round the wicket.