Harmanpreet Kaur and Sophie Ecclestone were involved in a heated exchange when Mumbai Indians (MI) and UP Warriorz (UPW) locked horns in Match No.16 of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025 on Thursday, March 6 at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow.
It happened in the last over of the Warriorz innings when MI were handed a slow over rate penalty. On-field umpire Ajitesh Argal infomed Harmanpreet that MI would be allowed only three fielders outside the circle instead of four as a penalty. Harmanpreet wasn’t happy with the decision and began arguing with the umpire.
Amelia Kerr, who was about to bowl the last time, also joined in the conversation. Ecclestone, at the non-striker’s end, stepped in, which made Harmanpreet even more furious. The MI captain looked animated as she made some fiery gestures.
Later, on-field umpire N Janani intervened, after which play resumed. The extra fielder inside the ring didn’t cost MI much as Kerr gave away only seven runs and took the wickets of Deepti Sharma and Eccelstone, restricting the Warriorz to 150 for nine.
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Harmanpreet Kaur fined
After the ugly incident, Harmanpreet was fined 10 percent of her match fees for breaching the WPL Code of Conduct. She acknowledged committing a Level 1 offence under Article 2.8, which pertains to expressing dissent towards an umpire’s decision during a match.
MI had the last laugh as they went on to win the match by six wickets. Kerr became the first MI bowler to take a five-wicket haul in the WPL after she finished with figures of 4-0-38-5. Harmanpreet, however, failed with the bat when Grace Harris dismissed her for four.
Hayley Matthews won the Player of the Match award after she scored 68 runs off 46 balls, laced with eight fours and two sixes. With the win, MI moved to second in the points table. The Warriorz, on the other hand, are all but knocked out of the competition.
