Cricket usually gives second chances, but rarely this quickly and rarely this sweet. On Wednesday night, Harleen Deol walked off the DY Patil Stadium with confusion on her face after being retired out on 47, a decision taken in the name of ‘death-overs acceleration’. Twenty-four hours later, she walked off the same ground to applause, unbeaten on 64, having dragged UP Warriorz (UPW) to their first win of WPL 2026 almost single-handedly. Seemed like a perfect movie script, with a full arch for the hero.
UP Warriorz were chasing 162 against Mumbai Indians (MI) and had just lost both openers in the same Nat Sciver-Brunt over. The season was slipping again. That was when Deol decided she had done enough listening to others. First ball, she cut Sciver-Brunt through backward point. Next over, she drove Amelia Kerr wide of point, then late-cut her for another. Three boundaries in three different ways, all on the offside, easing pressure off her.
Unlike the previous night, there was no hesitation in her game. If there was width on offer, it got punished by Deol. By the time Phoebe Litchfield fell, Deol had already taken control of the chase. Mumbai kept looking for answers, she kept finding gaps.
Retirement lit fire for Harleen Deol
It is fascinating how a ‘low’ can change a player. With UPW needing a push in the final overs against Delhi Capitals, coach Abhishek Nayar raised his arm and asked Deol to retire out on 47 off 36. She looked back, pointed at herself and asked, “Me?” The plan backfired badly as UPW added only 13 runs in the last three overs.
“Honestly, yesterday gave me a lot of confidence in fact because the first two games didn’t go my way. I went on and figured out a few things, I was just trying to overhit, this wicket is not the kind that would reward overhitting, scoring requires more timing.”
Just 24 hours after her retirement episode, Deol flipped it all around. When Sanskriti Gupta bowled a no-ball, Deol dispatched the free hit to bring up her fifty and then added two more boundaries in the same over to kill the chase. Tryon finished it off, but the platform was all Deol’s.
Brief scores: Mumbai Indians 161/5 (Sciver-Brunt 65, Amanjot 38) lost to UP Warriorz 162/3 (Harleen Deol 64, Tryon 27) by 7 wickets.
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