Last Updated:
Harleen Deol powered UP Warriorz to a 7-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in WPL 2026, smashing 64 off 39 balls after being retired out within the previous match.
Harleen Deol bounced back from the frustration of being retired out with a match-winning half century (BCCI/WPL)
Harleen Deol hit back with a 32-ball fifty after she was ‘retired out’ within the previous outing, an ideal answer to her critics.
The 27-year-old World Cup-winner smashed 3a 9-ball 64, with 12 strokes to the boundary as she led UP Warriorz to a 7-wicket win over Mumbai Indians within the 2026 Women’s Premier League (WPL) on the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Thursday.
WPL 2026: MI Vs UPW – Highlights
On Wednesday, Harleen was called back to the dugout in the course of the WPL 2026 match between the UPW and Delhi Capitals. Harleen was on 47 off 36 balls when head coach Abhishek Nayar seemingly asked her to return off ahead of the 18th over as she became only the second player in WPL’s history to be ‘retired out’ after Gujarat Giants’ Ayushi Soni was brought off against Mumbai Indians on Tuesday.
So what was different?
“I got somewhat boundary balls, so I attempted to convert it into boundaries. Sometimes it’s just your day – wherever you might be pondering to hit, the ball comes there, it was that for me,” Harleen said after the match.
“Nothing different. I used to be batting well yesterday also. There’s no point just keep stressing on that thing. Truthfully yesterday it gave me a whole lot of confidence, first two games didn’t go my way. I went on and found out just a few things, I used to be just attempting to overhit, this wicket just isn’t something which you already know for me as a batter to simply keep overhitting and more on timing basis,” she added.
UPW recorded their first victory of the season in 4 games, while the Mumbai Indians faced their second defeat in 4 matches.
She batted with renewed purpose and intent, collecting boundaries at will, including three in an over off the expert Shabnim Ismail.
The standout aspect of Harleen’s innings was her proficiency in playing square of the wicket on the off-side and the effortless manner by which she gathered her runs.
The India batter reached her fifty within the fifteenth over with a sweep off spinner Sanskriti Gupta. Two more fours followed in the identical over, reducing the goal to 29 off 24 balls with seven wickets remaining.
With Chloe Tryon (27 not out off 11) as her partner, Deol remained unbeaten to make sure the victory was secured easily.
Other Performers
Nat-Sciver Brunt (65 off 43 balls) showcased her renowned brute force to propel Mumbai Indians to 161 for five, following a fairly lacklustre begin to the innings. She then picked up two wickets – each UPW openers — Meg Lanning (25 off 26) and Kiran Navgire (10 off 12).
The opening pair of Amanjot Kaur (38 off 33) and G Kamalimi (5 off 12) struggled to get happening a slow pitch that favoured the spinners.
Sciver-Brunt and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (16 off 11) got here together after the openers departed in successive overs.
With the rating at 54 for 2 in 10 overs, Sciver-Brunt modified the course of the innings along with her remarkable hitting.
Due to her exceptional knock, Mumbai Indians managed to post a competitive total, with 107 runs coming within the last 10 overs.
After Harmanpreet fell to a sweep shot off Asha Shobhana, Nicola Carey provided excellent support to Sciver-Brunt, who continued hitting boundaries at will.
The 17-run over from Shobhana provided much-needed momentum, with Sciver-Brunt smashing a few fours and a straight six.
(With inputs from Agencies)
Navi Mumbai, India, India
January 15, 2026, 23:12 IST
Read More