In a nail-biting finish at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Smriti Mandhana-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) beat defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) by five runs to reach the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2023 final. After Ellyse Perry’s half-century, RCB bowlers were clinical in their approach to put pressure on MI batters and win the match despite posting a below par total on the board.
Poor start for RCB
Earlier, Mandhana won the toss and opted to bat first. RCB got off to a good start. 14 runs were scored off the first over bowled by Shabnim Ismail. Sophie Devine played down the wrong line against Hayley Matthews and got out in the second over. In the next over, Nat Sciver-Brunt got the better of Mandhana. Saika Ishaque was introduced into the attack and she ended Disha Kasat's troubled stay at the crease. Kasat got out for a seven-ball duck. After powerplay overs, RCB were 34/3.
Perry leads RCB out of danger
Ismail bowled a maiden over against Richa Ghosh. In the next over, Ghosh hit Ishaque for a six. Matthews returned to dismiss Ghosh who went for a big shot and got caught. She scored 14 runs from 19 balls. At the halfway stage, RCB were 51/4. After two boundary-less overs, Perry took on Pooja Vastrakar and smashed a six. But she lacked support from the other end, Sophie Molineux got bowled for an 11-ball 17 by Sciver-Brunt.
Ismail returned and Perry hit her for two consecutive fours. She reached her half-century from 40 balls. Perry hit two boundaries off Amelia Kerr as well. Georgia Wareham joined her and hit Vastrakar for a boundary in the penultimate over. Perry started the last over with a boundary and was caught on the boundary off the next ball. Her 50-ball 66 was laced with eight fours and six sixes. Wareham ended the innings with a six. Her 10-ball 18 helped RCB post 135/6.
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RCB bowlers put up a fight
In the run chase, Yastika Bhatia hit a boundary second ball. Matthews took on Devine and hit her for two fours. In Shreyanka Patil's second over, Yastika's catch was dropped at mid-off. In the same over, Matthews was dismissed for a 14-ball 15. Yastika hit two more boundaries in the powerplay overs. M were 37/1 after six overs. Yastika's stay at the crease was ended by Perry. She got her wicket with a jaffa. The opener scored 19 runs from 27 balls. At the halfway stage, MI were 60/2 with Harmanpreet Kaur and Sciver-Brunt in the middle. Sciver-Brunt targetted Wareham hitting her for two fours before getting bowled. She scored 23 runs from 17 balls.
Defending champions crumble under pressure
Harmanpreet and Kerr tried to take the game deep. In Perry's last over, Harmanpreet hit two fours. Kerr took on Wareham as she conceded 12 runs in the 17th over. Patil returned and completed her spell with Harmanpreet's wicket. She scored 33 runs from 30 deliveries. In the last two overs, 16 runs were needed. Molineux did not concede a single boundary and got S Sajana stumped. MI needed 12 runs in the final over. Asha Sobhana got Vastrakar stumped by dragging the length bag on seeing her dance down the wicket. On the ball, seven runs were needed with Kerr on strike. Sobhana held her nerves and RCB won the match by five runs to reach the WPL 2024 final. They will face Delhi Capitals on March 17 in the fight for the title.
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