After coach Abhishek Nayar tactically retired her out against DC, Deol returned to steer UPW’s chase past MI.
Author : Akshita Jain | EQmint | Sports News
Four and Twenty hours (the wavelength of a day) can cause huge change in someone’s standing, entertainment value, and role in the eyes of millions around the globe. Definitely, the best person to confirm this statement is the very first one mentioned in our account – Harleen Deol.
Besides being on the verge of the political prospect, Harleen was a part of a heated tactical debate about whether she should be retired out or not; nevertheless, she ended up writing a great page in the team’s history by getting a gorgeous unbeaten 57 to show for her efforts in the Women’s Premier League 2026 encounter.
Deol’s Next-Day Redemption Seals UPW Win
On the very following day of the entry, she was recorded as click-retired out on 47 figure, she was again portrayed in (on video at least) a play-level familiar performance, only that the result was quite the opposite one. Deol’s time at the crease was announced at #4 when she came in on only the 7th over to bat in the 2nd innings of the game, following a wicket by none other than Kiran Navgire; at that time, UP Warriorz were staring at a target of 117 and had just 79 balls to get it.
Deol was not in a defensive shell, as the first ball she faced went to the boundary and four more fours came in the subsequent five balls she played, which also caused the upgrader camera to change a shot to coach Abhishek Nayar.
In the 13th over, Deol was on 40 with the total coming from 23 balls, and there was a really bad feeling of history repeating itself (in a negative way) when Sanskriti Gupta, the offspinner, got away with a miserly over of only five runs. This was the only time when Deol allowed the pressure to mount.
Even when Phoebe Litchfield was caught for a 25, which came off 22 balls, she was composed, taking three boundaries from Sanskriti’s next and also as part of the deal brought her 50 in the process. Deol, coupled with Tryon, who finished the game with an unbeaten 27 off just 11 balls, eventually led to their first victory of the season.
Deol Shrugs Off Retired-Out Call
It was 24 hours ago against Delhi Capitals (DC), Deol had to retire after walking out in the seventh over. She had scored 28 off her first 18 balls, but after Shafali Verma came on to bowl, the run rate dropped, as Deol managed only 19 runs for the next 18 balls. As the innings started losing momentum, UPW decided to call her off in the 15th over, Nayar signalling her to return from the dugout. Deol stopped halfway, looked confused towards the dugout and then went back slowly. It was a moment that took everyone by surprise, including MI and India captain Harmanpreet Kaur.
After being named Player of the Match for her unbeaten 64 off 39 balls against MI during the Rashtriya Championship, Deol said that she did not want to focus on the retired-out decision.
“Actually, I was also batting well yesterday, but as you saw today, how Chloe can change the scenario,” Deol said at the post-match presentation. “So I simply took it that way. Probably, that didn’t go our way; that is the only thing that happened. I was batting well yesterday also, no point [to] keep stressing on that thing.”
The possibility of a retired-out call had been discussed inside the team before it happened – even though it looked sudden from the outside, Nayar mentioned. To this was added UPW’s dramatic fall as they lost four wickets for 11 runs.
Nayar: We Had the Power, Took the Call
“I was indeed trying to carry out overhitting on a couple of stuff. This pitch is not one, as a batter can just keep hitting over and over. Rather, it was mostly on timing that I scored,” said Harleen Deol.
“It wasn’t like a big spur-of-the-moment type decision,” Nayar told after UPW’s victory over MI. “The talk was around the 12th over when they were already batting together, and we first messaged Meg [Lanning]. I think after the 14th overtime, Meg pretty much decided to have a word with Harleen as well. At that point in time, we had already given a signal to Harleen that if we don’t get there in the 16th or 17th over, we will look for a change.”
“I understand from the outside, it seems like, ‘Oh my God, what happened?’ but when we came to the 17th over, we just had the feeling that we had the power, we wanted to make sure that we gave them the chance in this game. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. Looking back, the whole team was convinced that it was the correct call.”‘
Nayar also mentioned that the main concern post was to make sure Deol was okay. “She is such a selfless player; she always puts the team first, Harleen second. Hence, the conversations after the incident were mostly about how we can make a difference today. But it wasn’t a very tough conversation, so it was more about making sure she’s okay, and the stigma around [retired out].
Deol’s Team-First Mindset, Anchor’s Knock
Often, people speak about it and say, ‘oh, this must have happened,’ without really knowing what is going on. I believe there were a few other coaches and owners who had conversations with me about it, but she was fine. I recall just after entering, the first thing she said was, ‘Sir, we can win this game. It becomes very easy when you have a player who doesn’t think ‘me’ and thinks team.”
During the MI game, Deol was very comfortable in the offside and capitalized on the width. Nat Sciver-Brunt and Amelie Kerr made mistakes outside the off stump early, which allowed Deol to calm down quickly with cuts and drives. When Kerr moved onto her pads, Deol stayed patient, waiting for the ball and then turned into a pull through backward square leg.
Shabnim Ismail tried a fuller length, but the outcome was still the same: square drives and controlled pushes that kept the chase going without much risk.
She is not a natural six-hitter, given that she has only hit four sixes in 32 WPL and T20I innings over the last three years. All four of those sixes came in her 24 WPL games, 17 of which she has played in the top order. Her average of 31.78 and strike rate of 118.89 reflect her role as an anchor, but the strike rate issue is a question that lingers across all formats, including ODIs.
To read more such information : EQmint
Resource Link : Crickbuzz
