In the Eliminator match of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have knocked out Mumbai Indians (MI) by five runs at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
Smriti Mandhana won the toss and opted to bat first. The innings started off quite mediocrely for the Southern side but as the game progressed, the run rate also began to shoot up. While both openers, Mandhana (10) and Sophie Devine (10), failed to deliver big, it was all-rounder Ellyse Perry (66), who smashed a remarkable half-century to take RCB to a particularly good score of 135/6 in 20 overs. Along with Perry, Richa Ghosh (14), Georgia Wareham (18) and Sophie Molineux (11) also contributed decent runs at the back end of the inning.
In the chase, every top-order batter scored solid runs, but the reduction in run rate at the conclusion of the innings, courtesy of some magnificent bowling from RCB, stole the momentum from the reigning champions. Harmanpreet Kaur (33) was the leading scorer, however, she lost her wicket at the wrong time. Amelia Kerr (27*) was the last hope for MI fans; truthfully speaking, the game was already done and dusted.
While defending, Shreyanka Patil scalped two wickets, while one wicket each was taken by Perry, Sophie Molineux, Georgia Wareham, and Asha Sobhana.
On the other hand, for MI with the ball, Hayley Matthews, Nat Sciver-Brunt, and Saika Ishaque grabbed two wickets each.
Ellyse Perry was adjudged Player of the Match for her spectacular batting show. Following this win, RCB have qualified for the finals of the WPL 2024.
Scorecard:
Royal Challengers Bangalore: 135/6, Overs 20, Ellyse Perry 66, Hayley Matthews 2/18
Mumbai Indians: 130/6, Overs 20, Harmanpreet Kaur 33, Shreyanka Patil 2/16