Matthews falters as Mumbai Indians suffer heavy nine-wicket defeat to Delhi Capitals

West Indies captain Hayley Matthews, a key figure in Mumbai Indians Women’s squad, found herself struggling with both bat and ball as her team slumped to a nine-wicket loss against Delhi Capitals Women in a low-scoring Women’s Premier League (WPL) contest at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, on Friday.

Coming off a confident half-century in her previous outing, Matthews failed to replicate that form, as she managed just 22 runs off 25 balls. Her innings, though brief, included four boundaries and ironically ended as a joint top-score for the Mumbai Indians in a disappointing total of 123-9 from 20 overs.

Matthew’s also had little impact with the ball, conceding 16 runs in her two wicketless overs, as the Delhi Capitals stormed to 124-1 with more than five overs to spare.

Mumbai Indians, sent in to bat, lost their openers Yastika Bhatia (11) and Matthews early, as both fell with just 35 runs on the board, leaving the middle order to pick up the pieces.

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who made 22 off 16 balls, including two fours, one six, and Nat Sciver-Brunt (18), attempted to steady the innings, as they added 38 runs before both succumbed to left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen.

That double blow proved to be the turning point as the Mumbai Indians stumbled to 83-4 and never recovered. Despite efforts from Amelia Kerr (17) and Amanjot Kaur, who remained unbeaten on 17, they lost five wickets for just 40 runs in the latter part of the innings.

Jonassen (3-25) and Minnu Mani (3-17) exploited the conditions superbly to keep Mumbai in check.

In response, the Delhi Capitals made light work of their chase, thanks to a dominant 85-run opening stand between captain Meg Lanning and Shafali Verma. Verma, the more aggressive of the duo, smashed four boundaries and three sixes in her 28-ball 43 before falling to Amanjot Kaur in the 10th over.

Despite the breakthrough, Mumbai never looked like troubling the opposition as Lanning carried on unfazed. She played a composed, unbeaten knock of 60 from 49 balls, hitting nine fours along the way, as Jemimah Rodrigues, with an unbeaten 10-ball 15, joined her to complete the chase with ease.

The victory propelled Delhi Capitals back to the top of the WPL standings with eight points, while Mumbai Indians, having played a game less, slipped to second with six points.