Regular captain Harmanpreet Kaur still not fit? Frontline fast bowler Shabnim Ismail also not available? A packed stadium rooting for the home team? No problem said Nat-Sciver Brunt as she marshalled the Mumbai Indians side with aplomb, silencing the M Chinnaswamy crowd, and on the way seeing her side catapult to the top of the WPL 2024 points table.
Long before Amelia Kerr caressed a Georgia Wareham delivery through point to ace Mumbai's 132-run chase in 15.1 overs, Sciver-Brunt had laid the foundation for the win, through her captaincy and all-round play.
Right from the toss which Mumbai won and elected to field, Sciver-Brunt barely put a foot wrong. It couldn't have been easy. With two of the most prominent names missing from the playing XI, she had a tough initiation to WPL captaincy against UP Warriorz, with Mumbai going down by seven wickets.
Sciver-Brunt didn't have a lot of time to reflect on the loss - just two days - and with Harmanpreet and Ismail still missing, back she was at the helm. This time though, she looked much more settled and in control from the get-go. Most of the surfaces so far in the WPL have shown a tendency to get better to bat on as the night progresses. Sciver-Brunt knew wickets would be key, so off she went ringing in the changes, in the hopes of preventing the batters from getting into rhythm.
Mumbai employed four different bowlers in the first six overs. There were mostly just one-over spells with no one getting more than two at any point in the game. And the plan worked. Issy Wong sent back Smriti Mandhana in the third over with Sciver-Brunt taking a smart catch back-peddling from extra cover. The captain herself trapped S Meghana with an excellent bouncer and by the time the powerplay was done, RCB had already lost three wickets with their run rate below six an over.
Barring Ellyse Perry (44) and to an extent Wareham (27), none of the RCB batters looked settled at any stage. And the credit for that should go to how well Sciver-Brunt shuffled the bowlers around and the bowlers themselves for responding to her tactics. She later returned to end the Perry-Wareham stand as well, finishing with 2 for 27 off her four overs as RCB were restricted to 131 for 6.
MI's legspinner talks bowling, moving on from loss against UP Warriors, and playing in Bengaluru
"You don't want to bowl too many in a row apart from at the start of the game when a bowler might be swinging it, you don't want to get lined up too much," Sciver-Brunt said after the match. "We reviewed the game [that they lost to UP Warriorz] really the other day and put some things right today. That was a pretty complete performance from our side today and we are pretty happy in the camp."
Wong also echoed her captain's statement about how continuous changes in bowling disrupt a batter's rhythm.
"I feel it is easier as a bowler because you never really get a chance for someone to line you up," Wong said. "Especially in this short format, we've seen people bowl really good first overs, come back and bowl again and it is easier to get lined up having bowled two in a row. I think that definitely helps us bowlers, the batters don't necessarily have that continuity."
With job done with the ball, it was now time for Sciver-Brunt the batter to shine. She came in at the fall of Yastika Bhatia's wicket, with Mumbai already off to a flyer. Sciver-Brunt got off the mark with a cheeky reverse paddle past short third before square-driving Sophie Devine past point as Mumbai raced to 60 for 1 in their powerplay.
Thereon, it was more about taking her side as close to the finishing line as possible for Sciver-Brunt. She found an ally in Kerr, who found boundaries at regular intervals while the captain was happy to turn the strike over. The duo added 49 off 35 balls for the third wicket and by the time Sciver-Brunt fell for 27, victory was only 14 runs away.
Kerr, who finished the chase and ended up with an unbeaten 24-ball 40, was effusive in praise of the way Sciver-Brunt led Mumbai in Harmanpreet's absence.
"Nat has been amazing. Obviously, Harman has been an incredible leader for Mumbai. For Nat to step up the way she has, has been outstanding," Kerr said. "She has captained England before in games and she has got a great way about it. She is very level and calm and has a good cricket brain.
"I thought tonight was exceptional as well. It's been great. We are obviously looking to having Harman back too. She is key for Mumbai, but Nat has done a great job and I think that is the beauty of this team is that everything is so seamless, and we just get on with it."
Sciver-Brunt was the fulcrum behind Mumbai's title win in WPL 2023, with runs and wickets aplenty. Now, armed with the added responsibility of being stand-in captain, she remains undeterred. She might not be in as flawless a form as she was last season, but her presence and cricketing smarts will be essential in Mumbai's quest to add another silverware to their cabinet.