Navi Mumbai, Jan 15 (IANS) Harleen Deol said she was relieved to help UP Warriorz get their first win of the 2026 Women’s Premier League (WPL) season, saying that her getting a few boundary balls from the Mumbai Indians bowlers meant she knew this could be her day to make big runs in Match 8 at the Dr DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Thursday.

A day after being retired out for 47, Harleen stepped up to hit an unbeaten 64 off 39 balls, laced with 12 boundaries, as UPW chased down 162 with 11 balls to spare. "Feels good, happy for the team for the first win. Actually, yesterday too I was batting well. As you saw today, how Chloe can change the scenario. I just took it that way. She's someone who can hit big, but that didn't go our way. That's how I look at it," said Harleen after receiving the Player of the Match award.

Harleen dismissed concerns about being retired out in a previous game, saying her preparation remained consistent. "Nothing different today. I just got a few boundary balls; sometimes it's just your day. Normal prep for me, I was batting well yesterday also, no point in keeping stressing on that thing (retired out). The first two games didn't go my way. I was overhitting earlier. This wasn't the wicket to do that," she said.

She further explained how conditions improved as the match progressed, making scoring easier in the second innings. "In the first innings, the wicket was tough to score on. Then it got better, so we were just looking to hit, and balls were coming by themselves. I'm someone who looks at ways to contribute."

Chloe played a vital cameo of 27 not out to ensure UPW suffered no late jitters in the chase. "Harleen was just talking about finishing that over. But, 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, we'll take the win, though. I'm really excited to be on the board," she said.

She sounded philosophical about her limited opportunities with the previous franchise, the Mumbai Indians, across three WPL seasons. "Look, it was a great franchise to be part of. But 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," she said.

She praised Harleen’s batting performance while noting the challenging fielding conditions late in the innings. "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."

Chloe took two crucial catches despite sustaining an injury to her right elbow, including the prized wicket of opposition captain Harmanpreet Kaur. "I think it's gonna stick to my bed tonight, hopefully I can get some stuff to put over it. But look, I'm just happy I took that catch and a big wicket against Harman.

“So, 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. I was anticipating the wrong way, and then I realised it was going the other way. So I'm happy that I got to it. And then hopefully I just stuck my hands out, and I'm happy it stuck," she explained.

The win will help settle UPW nerves in the dressing room, felt Chloe. "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 those one percenters, just believing in ourselves, reflecting a little bit from yesterday, but just making sure that we stick as a group today, and hopefully just get the win. So I'm happy that we actually stuck to our plan today," she said.

She also acknowledged the bowling unit's struggles in the death overs but praised the batting group's response. "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.”

With more matches scheduled, Chloe viewed the victory as crucial for gaining momentum heading into the remainder of the competition. "I always believe that you don't really win 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," she said.

--IANS

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