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Mumbai Indians (MI) delivered a dominant performance against the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, securing a comfortable four-wicket victory. MI rode on Harmanpreet Kaur's fifty to chase down the 168-run target with a ball to spare.
MI down RCB in their own fort
Despite it being RCB's first home game of the season, Mumbai asserted control early on, consistently taking wickets and disrupting RCB's momentum. RCB captain Smriti Mandhana got off to a good start, hitting a series of boundaries, but her innings was cut short at 26. Soon after, Danne Wyatt-Hodge also fell, contributing only nine runs.
With the team struggling, the responsibility once again fell on Ellyse Perry, who delivered a much-needed boost. At one point, RCB were reeling at 57/4, but the Australian international played an aggressive brand of cricket to keep the scoreboard moving. She formed a small partnership with Richa Ghosh, who contributed 28 runs off 25 balls.
Despite a lack of support from the other batters, Perry maintained her aggressive approach, hitting the ball to all parts of the ground and scoring a crucial 81 runs off just 43 deliveries. Her scintillating knock helped RCB post a competitive total of 167/7 in their first innings. Amanjot Kaur was the pick of the bowlers for Mumbai, taking three wickets for 22 runs.
Harmanpreet Kaur's fifty in MI's win over RCB
Mumbai's chase got off to a shaky start, with both openers, Yastika Bhatia and Hayley Matthews, dismissed early. However, Nat Sciver-Brunt, in excellent form, steadied the innings with a quickfire 42 runs off 21 balls, setting the platform for the chase. Batting at number four, captain Harmanpreet Kaur then took control of the game, contributing a vital 50 runs off 38 balls. The match was far from over, though, when Georgia Wareham dismissed both Harmanpreet and S Sajana in consecutive deliveries, injecting fresh tension into the contest.
Despite the mounting pressure, Mumbai found a hero in Amanjot Kaur, who played a phenomenal, unbeaten innings of 34 runs to guide her team to victory. While she took some time to settle in initially, Amanjot accelerated at the crucial moment, ultimately steering Mumbai across the finish line. The match went down to the wire, reaching the final over, where it was fittingly 16-year-old G Trisha who struck the winning four.
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