Despite Harmanpreet Kaur missing her second match in a row due to a niggle, Mumbai Indians (MI) continued their dominance against Smriti Mandhana-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) with an easy seven-wicket win. MI chased down a below par target of 132 with 29 balls to spare at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru to rise to the top spot on the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024 points table.
MI pick early wickets
Stand-in skipper Nat-Sciver Brunt won the toss and opted to bowl first. Skipper Mandhana fell early. Issy Wong took her wicket in the third over. In the fifth over, Sabbhineni Meghana fell to Sciver-Brunt. RCB lost another wicket in powerplay overs as Sophie Devine was dismissed lbw by Saika Ishaque. After six overs, RCB had 34 runs on the board for the loss of three wickets. Richa Ghosh could not make an impact either and hit the ball straight to the extra cover fielder. RCB lost four wickets for 42 runs.
Perry takes RCB to a respectable total
Ellyse Perry tried to accelerate in the middle overs. Pooja Vastrakar got her second wicket as Sophie Molineux was deceived by the line and got bowled. Perry and Georgia Wareham took RCB past 100 in the 16th over. In the penultimate over, Sciver-Brunt ended Wareham's stay at the crease. She scored 27 runs from 20 balls. In the final over Shreyanka Patil managed to find a boundary with a reverse sweep. Perry's unbeaten 38-ball 44 took RCB to 131/6.
Blazing start
Unlike RCB openers, MI's Hayley Matthews and Yastika Bhatia attacked in the powerplay overs. Yastika hit the first six of the innings in the second over. She gave Renuka Singh the same treatment. She went after Devine as well hitting two fours but edged one to the wicketkeeper. The wicketkeeper-batter contributed with a 15-ball 31 cameo. After the powerplay overs, MI had 60 runs on the board.
Kerr finishes it off
Matthews welcomed Wareham with a massive six. Patil got her wicket in the next over. She departed for a 21-ball 26. Amelia Kerr took the attacking approach whereas Sciver-Brunt tried to play the anchor role. Kerr hit Simran Bahadur, Patil, and Asha Sobhana for two fours each. In the 14th over, Wareham got the consolation wicket of Sciver-Brunt who scored 27 runs from 25 balls. In the 16th over, Kerr finished the run chase with a boundary. MI won by seven wickets with 29 balls to spare. She remained unbeaten for 40 runs from 24 balls.
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