Last Update: March 07, 2023, 11:43 AM IST
Hayley Mathews has been in scintillating form for MI. (pic credit: wpl)
Hayley Mathews took three wickets and scored an unbeaten 77 to guide Mumbai Indians to a resounding win over Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Hayley Mathews feels extremely relieved that Mumbai Indians’ batting depth has let them go hell for the leather from the outset as they have done in both the WPL games so far.
Opening the innings for MI, the 24-year-old from Barbados scored 47 off 31 balls in the opening game against Gujarat Giants and followed it up with an unbeaten 77 off 38 balls to take three wickets in his team’s nine-wicket haul. Win against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
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“We have got a team with a lot of stars. It probably gave the top-order here the freedom to go out there and bat,” said Mathews, who hit 13 fours and a six in MI’s chase of 156.
In fact, Mathews said that after playing on slow pitches in South Africa during the T20 World Cup, playing on better batting pitches at DY Patil and Brabourne Stadium definitely helped his game a lot.
“For the West Indies for the last few weeks, I have been working on my batting, getting big scores. I have only tried to take that (form) here. Also, batting on better wickets than what we got in South Africa has also helped. It has also boosted confidence.”
Mathews feels that a target of 175 to 180 is easily achievable at a batting pitch like the Brabourne Stadium.
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He said, ‘It was a really good wicket to bat on. Maybe 170 or 180 plus was a par score. We have the batting and I think both me and Natt (Syver-Brunt) were able to do that and get a very good win.
He has also turned his star with the ball and believes that the biggest USP of his team is having a lot of multi-skilled players.
“Thankfully, they have picked me as an all-rounder, so I hope they bowl me here and there. We have so many bowling options in the Mumbai Indians team that I may not have been needed again in the last match but today I had to bowl. That’s the beauty of the team we have now,” Mathews said.
Mathews feels that taking on more responsibility for the West Indies has definitely helped him develop his game.
“I think it was about being more responsible at the crease. I definitely had more work to do with the West Indies. It naturally helped me in my T20s and it has helped me here as well. “
It has also helped her change her mindset and unlike her initial days in international cricket, she is not always in a rush to succeed.
Mathews said, ‘Perhaps I was not able to score as many runs as I wanted to, but now the responsibility has come on me and international cricket has helped me to understand that I have to fulfill my T20 goals because of bowing my head too often. How to make innings.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)
