The perfect game. That's what this was.

There are many ways of entering finals, but this takes the cake. The women brought out their top game, hit top gear, and unleashed the avatar that big champions do when they get into the knockouts. Brutal. Killer. Here we go then, looking at certain key game-changing moments:

* A steady powerplay: Not the most explosive of starts, but Yastika Bhatia and Hayley Matthews very smartly played out the new ball, laying the platform for a big explosion. And today was Nat's turn to bring out the explosives! 

* 'Nat' to be messed with: You've seen the trailer multiple times. Today was a movie. A blockbuster. 72 runs | 38 balls | 9 fours | 2 sixes. She was dropped by Sophie Ecclestone on the fourth ball she faced, and boy, oh boy, she made them pay. The start was brisk, the end was big, and she lifted MI to a massive 182 in the 20 overs.

* Mumbai-Kerr, err, does it again: Carrying on her form from the previous game, Amelia Kerr joined forced with Nat, matching her stroke for stroke, and making sure the momentum kept picking up through the innings with her 19-ball 29.

* No coming back: After three wickets in the first five overs, the mountain was too steep for the UP Warriorz to climb. They just couldn't recover. Saika Ishaque got back into drawing first blood, with the scalp of Shweta Sherawat. Tahila Mcgrath fell in trying to pinch a quick single, but Issy Wong inflicted the biggest damage. 

* Wong won it: Alyssa Healy is a certified big match player. Ask India. Not tonight though. Issy wasn't letting her, drawing a false shot, and then came back later in the innings to ensure that Kiran Navghire, the only batter who seemed to get going, was snapped up too.

Right then, Paltan. One step. That's all that's remaining. ONE STEP. You cannot stop your superstitions. You cannot take your foot off the gas.