It was a win set up by the bowlers. And among the bowlers, Hayley Matthews, who’s made a habit of breaking through the middle-order game after game, with the wickets of D Hemalatha, Kashvee Gautam and Simran Shaikh, ensure the Gujarat Giants folded out for an under-par total of 120. Here she is, at the post-match press conference, and here are excerpts..  

Thoughts on her spell of 3/16

Enjoyed it quite a bit. Definitely felt it was conducive to my bowling style and the way I go about it. I had some really strong plans and was pretty chuffed when they worked.

On having a 5-0 record over Gujarat Giants

I guess as a team we match up really well against them. Whenever we step onto the park, we want to be doing really well. We are fortunate to have a very good history against them and get another one over them. At the same time, we’ve had to come out and play really good cricket to do that. They’ve obviously got a really strong team and a team that competes really high. Pretty happy to get that win but a hard fought win at the end of the day.

On Nat Sciver-Brunt’s stellar form with the bat

She’s obviously a class player and has been a class player for quite some time. Everyone was very good with the ball today. Every single bowler played a massive role in keeping them to 120. She was a different class today with the bat, as she usually is. She had a difficult season last year with the bat, so it’s really good to see her come good in these first two matches and have the stay she has had. Hopefully some more of us are able to step up and support her in the coming games.

On coming back after the close loss in the previous game

I think we were pretty hungry. We knew it was going to be a very important match. The first definitely did hurt given how close it was and knowing that it was a situation where we could have been one win in one. At the same time, we wanted to stay calm. We know the quality of players we have in the dressing room and we know on our day, we are capable of beating any team. We got our plans correct today and we were able to execute them really well.

Thoughts on the full house in the ground

It's great. The crowds come out in the WPL with the fan craze around. People want to support it and it is great to be a part of. I love playing in front of big crowds and they add so much energy and excitement to the tournament. It’s going to continue to grow if people are there to support it. The girls are out there putting up a show. We are playing a brand of cricket that will attract people and people would want to see, and at the same time enjoy themselves doing.

On playing for the Mumbai Indians

It's been great. They are a franchise with a lot of history. So many legendary players have been a part of the franchise. I was really happy when I got picked in the first year. We’ve been able to grow a great bond. We have seen so many familiar faces be a part of the franchise over the last two years and we’ve just been able to build something really special. The highlight has been winning the tournament in the first year and getting really close last year. The first match didn’t go how we wanted but we’ve been enjoying ourselves here in Baroda. If we can keep the winning way going, for sure, we’ll be having more fun.