da bet vitoria： Perry’s 81 and Wareham’s three wickets weren’t enough for RCB
da fazobetai： Hemant Brar21-Feb-2025Win the toss, field first, win the match. This has been the story of all seven games in WPL 2025 so far. Mumbai Indians (MI) were the latest benefactors of winning the toss as they beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by four wickets in the first game of the Bengaluru leg.Bowling first, MI restricted RCB to 167 for 7 despite a pristine 81 off 43 balls by Ellyse Perry. Then they had the joint-best powerplay of the season, cruising to 66 for 2. Harmanpreet Kaur’s half-century kept MI in a comfortable position until Georgia Wareham dismissed her and S Sajana off successive balls in the 18th over. Amanjot Kaur took over from there and, with 22 needed from 12 balls, hit Kanika Ahuja for two sixes. That brought it down to run-a-ball in the final over. Still, it came down to two needed from two balls before 16-year-old G Kamalini smashed Ekta Bisht through covers to seal the game.Mandhana vs Ismail – a short storyShabnim Ismail is the fastest bowler in women’s cricket and it showed immediately. Opening the bowling for MI, Ismail hurried Smriti Mandhana with a bouncer, the RCB captain’s mistimed pull falling short of mid-on. However, Mandhana took just one delivery to adjust to the pace and the bounce of the pitch. Two balls later, when Ismail hurled another short ball, Mandhana quickly got into the position and pulled it over square leg for four.It made Ismail switch to around the wicket. For the last ball of the over, she went short again, this time trying to cramp the batter. Mandhana unfurled another four with a pull.Smriti Mandhana takes on a short ball•BCCI
Nat Sciver-Brunt, who opened the bowling from the other end, does not have Ismail’s pace. That allowed Mandhana to use her feet and launch a straight six.In her next over, Ismail erred in her line, and Mandhana duly cut her to the point boundary twice in three balls. But Ismail had the last laugh. She went short again, angling the ball on this occasion. Mandhana must have been feeling invincible by then. She attempted another pull. But this one took the top edge and Yastika Bhatia settled under it behind the stumps.Quick wickets leave RCB in troublePerry opened her account with a first-ball four, flicking a full delivery from Ismail over square leg. In the next over, she freed her arms and hit Sciver-Brunt over long-on. But MI pulled things back with three quick wickets. Danni Wyatt-Hodge miscued an upper cut against Sciver-Brunt to short third; Raghvi Bist hit Hayley Matthews into the hands of deep midwicket; and Ahuja chopped Sanskriti Gupta onto her stumps. After nine overs, RCB were 62 for 4.Perry pristineRCB did not hit a single boundary from overs six to nine. Perry ended the drought in the tenth when she dispatched Matthews for four. She found support from Richa Ghosh, who smashed a six in the same over. The pair combined to pocket five more fours in the next three overs. By the time Amanjot bowled Ghosh for 28 off 25, the partnership had reached 50 in 38 deliveries.Ellyse Perry top-scored for RCB with a pristine 81•BCCI
From there on, Perry carried RCB almost singlehandedly. She hit Amelia Kerr inside out over extra cover to bring her fifty off 30 balls. Two balls later, she jumped out of her crease to deposit Kerr over long-on. In the next over, Matthews paid the price for bowling too short as Perry picked up two more fours. Perry eventually fell to Amanjot on the penultimate ball of the innings but not before hitting the bowler for back-to-back fours.Matthews, Sciver-Brunt give MI flying startMI started their chase in an attacking manner, with Bhatia hitting Renuka Singh for two fours in the opening over. Even though Kim Garth trapped Bhatia for 8, there was no respite for RCB. Sciver-Brunt hit two fours off the first two balls she faced to keep the runs flowing. She took it a notch higher in Garth’s next over with three fours.Matthews joined with back-to-back fours off Wareham. Bisht, who came in for the sixth over was not spared either. Sciver-Brunt started with a hat-trick of fours and Matthews chipped in with one. The only solace for Bisht was that she had Matthews lbw with her last ball.Harmanpreet takes overGarth provided RCB with some relief when she castled Sciver-Brunt for 42 off 21 balls in the eighth over. Two overs later, Wareham bowled a maiden in which she also had Kerr slicing to backward point.Harmanpreet Kaur’s fifty put Mumbai Indians in a comfortable position•BCCI
Harmanpreet had had a slow start and was on 10 off ten balls after the tenth over. But she put the chase back on track with two fours off VJ Joshitha. MI needed 54 in the last six overs but Harmanpreet was well set by then. She hit Ahuja for successive fours, slog-swept Bisht into the stands, and picked up two more fours of Renuka to make MI firm favourites.Amanjot’s twin sixes overpower Wareham’s twin strikesWith 24 required from three overs and Harmanpreet batting on 50 off 36, the match looked all but lost for RCB. But in an attempt to cut Wareham, Harmanpreet edged the ball to Ghosh. Sajana lasted just one ball, Wareham’s slider trapping her lbw. Moreover, MI could score only two off that over.It was anyone’s game at that point. But Amanjot, who had been playing second fiddle to Harmanpreet till then, stepped up. She was on 20 off 22 balls when her Punjab team-mate Ahuja started the 19th over. Amanjot went down the ground first ball and cleared long-on. Ahuja conceded only four in the next four balls but Amanjot cleared long-on once again on the final ball.Not only did MI require just six in the final over, but RCB’s slow over rate also meant there was one fielder fewer in the outfield. Bisht tried her best, darting the ball with the keeper standing back for the first two deliveries. But Kamalini kept her cool and took her side to victory with one ball to spare.
