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Skipper Smriti Mandhana and Ellyse Perry's half-centuries helped RCB post 198/3 and beat UP Warriorz by 23 runs in their last home match of the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2024 season. RCB climbed one spot to no.3 on the points table after two consecutive losses. UP Warriorz lost their third match of the season and are fourth on the points table.
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Change in opening works
UP Warriorz skipper Healy won the toss and opted to field first. Mandhana opened the innings with Sabbhineni Meghana instead of Sophie Devine. In the second over, both openers hit one boundary each. Meghana took on Grace Harris in the next over hitting two boundaries. Mandhana hit the first six off Rajeshwari Gayakwad. Chamari Athapaththu wasn't spared either. Mandhana hit her for a maximum as well. Sarvani broke the partnership in the sixth over with a short ball. Meghana departed after scoring 28 runs from 21 balls. Perry came to bat and hit a boundary first ball to get off the mark.
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Mandhanaβs solid knock
Sophie Ecclestone almost got the breakthrough but Athapaththu dropped Mandhana's catch. In the Sri Lankan's over, Healy missed a chance to stump Mandhana. The RCB skipper took on Gayakward once again and hit her four a six. She reached her half-century from 34 balls. In the same over, Perry hit the first maximum of her knock as well. In the 15th over, she hit three boundaries to push RCB's score. She gave the same treatment to Sarvani amidst RCB-RCB chants. Perry finished Sarvani's expensive over with a boundary.
Perryβs destructive knock
Deepti broke the partnership with the wicket of Mandhana. She scored 80 runs from 50 balls including 10 fours and three sixes. Perry accelerated and hit Gayakwad for two consecutive sixes. Richa Ghosh hit a six as well to make it a 21-run over. In the penultimate over, Perry reached her half-century with a boundary. Then she smashed a six which shattered the 'Player of the series' car's glass window. Ecclestone ended Perry's stay at the crease in the final over. The Australian all-rounder scored 58 runs from 37 balls featuring four sixes and four fours. Ghosh finished the innings with a boundary taking RCB's score to 198/3. Ghosh contributed with a 10-ball 21.
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Healy leads Warriorzβ run chase
In the run chase, skipper Healy hit Devine for two sixes. Kiran Navgire broke free and hit two fours and a six off Renuka Singh's 24-run over. Devine in her next over got the wicket of Navgire. She scored 18 runs from 11 balls. Athapaththu ended powerplay overs with two fours. Healy welcomed Georgia Wareham with a six. Athapaththu could not continue and got out lbw in the same over. In the next over, Devine dismissed Harris lbw for a single-digit score. In Wareham's next over, Healy hit a hat-trick of fours. Shweta Sehrawat couldn't impress and lost her wicket to Asha Sobhana. At the halfway stage, UP Warriorz were 90/4.
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Warriorz lack finishing skills
Deepti and Healy tried to push the scoring rate. The skipper reached her half-century from 34 balls. In the next over, she got stumped off Sophie Molineux's bowling. The wicketkeeper-batter scored 55 runs from 38 balls including seven fours and three sixes. In the next over, Deepti hit Renuka for a maximum. Poonam Khemnar and Deepti looked for boundaries but the required run rate slipped out of grasp. Shobhana in the 18th over dismissed Deepti who scored 33 runs from 22 balls. In the penultimate over, Wareham dismissed Ecclestone Khemnar ended the over with a four and a six. In the final over UP Warriorz needed 29 runs to win. Kehmnar got bowled for a 24-ball 31 on the last ball. UP Warriorz posted 175/8 and lost the match by 23 runs.
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