"Nice to bounce back": Meg Lanning after UPW seal 22-run win over MI

Navi Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 17 (ANI): After sealing a 22-run win over the Mumbai Indians, UP Warriorz captain Meg Lanning, who also won the Player of the Match award, said it felt nice after bouncing back with a win after losing the first three matches.
"Was a nice bounce back after losing the first three. Our group stayed up. Great to get two wins vs MI, which gives momentum heading into Baroda. We did a lot of planning on how we want to execute. They have good batters. Last two games, we've nailed it. Nice batting with Phoebe, we hit different areas. She took pressure off me, hope to have a couple more going forward. We can finish our batting innings better, MI took pace off. We've tightened up a few areas," Lannig said during the post-match presentation ceremony, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
After losing the match, Mumbai Indians captain Harmanpreet Kaur said, "We wanted to chase as a group. Even though we didn't bowl well, we restricted them to under 200. Our batting, we weren't good in the power play, gotta work on it. They (Litchfield and Lanning) were going hard, and we missed chances; if we do that, teams will put us under pressure. If we come together with fewer mistakes, that'll help us win matches. Kamalini is very important for us, doing great behind the stumps. Hayley wasn't well at the start, so we had to make a lot of changes. But now it's settled, and we'll be able to settle in."
UP Warriorz registered a comprehensive 22-run win over the two-time champions Mumbai Indians.
With this win, the Meg Lanning-UP Warriorz registered their second win in five matches, whereas the Mumbai Indians suffered their third defeat in as many games.
While chasing a challenging target of 188 runs, the Mumbai Indians were restricted to 165/6 in 20 overs after a good bowling performance by the UP Warriorz.
Batting first, Meg Lanning (70 off 45 balls, including 11 boundaries and two sixes) stitched a 119-run partnership off 74 balls alongside Australian compatriot Phoebe Litchfield (61 runs off 37 balls, including seven boundaries and three sixes).
With her 70-run innings, Lanning now has the most fifty-plus scores in the history of WPL. She now has 11 fifty-plus scores in 32 WPL innings, followed by MI's Harmanpreet Kaur, who has 10 fifty-plus scores in 30 innings. Nat Sciver-Brunt also has 10 fifty-plus totals in 32 WPL innings.
Amelia Kerr, bowling the final over of the innings, wreaked havoc as she gave just two runs and claimed three wickets (Harleen Deol, Sophie Ecclestone and Deepti Sharma) and kept UP to surpass the 190-run mark and finish with 187/8 in 20 overs. Kerr finished with the figures of 3-28 in four overs.
With her three-wicket haul, Kerr became the first player in WPL history to reach the 50-wicket milestone. She now has 50 wickets in 34 matches at an excellent average of 17.26. She is seven wickets ahead of the second-placed Hayley Matthews, who has 43 wickets in 31 WPL matches.
While chasing a challenging target of 188 runs, the Mumbai Indians were restricted to 165/6 in 20 overs after a good bowling performance by the UP Warriorz.
Mumbai Indians lost their top five batters, Hayley Matthews (13), Sajeevan Sajana (10), Nat Sciver-Brunt (15), and captain Harmanpreet Kaur (18) as the two-time champions slumped to 69-5 at one stage.
However, Amelia Kerr's unbeaten 49 and Amanjot Kaur's 41 tried hard, but UP Warriorz tight bowling helped them to seal a victory at the DY Patil Stadium.
With the ball, Shikha Pandey (2/30), Kranti Gaud (1/32), Sophie Ecclestone (1/33), Deepti Sharma (1/35), and Chloe Tryon (1/18) were among the wicket-takers for UP Warriroz. (ANI)