While the Mumbai Indians ascertained their position as favourites in the tournament, the West Indian all-rounder picked up three wickets with the ball, before smashing an unbeaten 77 to hand Smrithi Mandhana’s side their second consecutive loss.

Matthews was initially unsold in the first round of the Women’s Premier League auction back in February, before she was recalled and acquired by the Mumbai Indians in the accelerated round. Matthews’ performance was indeed a statement to her doubters, as she ensured another heavy defeat for the Challengers. Enhance your WPL watching experience with attractive betting odds from NextBet.

Smrithi Mandhana, who won her second toss in a row, this time elected to bat at the Brabourne Stadium. They once again began well with a 11-run opening over as Sophie Devine and Mandhana both looked in good touch. However, it was Saika Ishaque yet again who made the difference, as she got rid of Devine and Disha Kasat in the space of three balls to pull the game back in Mumbai’s favour. Matthews built on this platform, snapping up Mandhana in the very next over, then cleaning up Heather Knight’s stumps.

Aussie stalwart Ellyse Perry was the next one to depart and the final big fish in Mumbai’s way, as a horrible mix-up between her and Richa Ghosh resulted in a run-out. Ghosh and Kanika Ahuja attempted to rebuild the RCB innings, but any hope of a big total was firmly subverted by Matthews, who got rid of Ghosh. Megan Schutt did her best to push the RCB total to 160, but a lack of support at the other end meant that Mumbai needed 156 to get in their innings.

While a target of 156 on a surface like this was never going to be too difficult for the Mumbai Indians, no one perhaps expected the ease in which they went about their chase. Yastika Bhatia departed in the powerplay, bringing Nat Sciver Brunt to the middle. Hayley Matthews and the England international smoked the RCB bowling to all parts of the ground, as both ladies struck in excess of 190. The RCB’s abysmal performance was ended quickly with 34 balls to spare as Mumbai cemented their place at the top. Follow NextBet Sports for more updates from WPL.

Brief Scores: Mumbai Indians 159 for 1 (Matthews 77*, Sciver-Brunt 55*) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 155 (Ghosh 28, Matthews 3-28, Ishaque 2-26) by 9 wickets