Image Credit- BCCI
Before today’s WPL
2024 final group match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Ellyse Perry had
not claimed a wicket in her previous six innings. She more than made up for it
by leading RCB into the playoffs and bringing back the best WPL stats ever. Perry,
who finished with a 6 for 15, put on an incredible show of swing bowling to
enable the Mumbai Indians be dismissed for just 113 runs.
Perry was far from finished yet. After the RCB swiftly lost their top three,
she took charge of the chase with an undefeated 40 off 38 balls. Richa Ghosh,
who was unbeaten at 36 off 28 as the RCB won by seven wickets in Delhi, was her
ally.
Going against the
grain requires a courageous captain, particularly in a game that has the
potential to make or ruin the team’s season. Until today, the team batting
first has won six of the seven games in the Delhi leg of the WPL. Harmanpreet
Kaur exceptional was needed even for the one that Mumbai won by pursuing. In
spite of this, Mandhana chose to field, stating that the game was being played
on a new pitch. And that was a wise choice.
Mumbai started S Sajana and Hayley Matthews as the new opening pair because
Yastika Bhatia was sidelined by sickness. After Matthews was out, the pair
added 43 for the first wicket, but after that, it was all one-way traffic.
It began with a
catch and ended with Perry tearing through Mumbai with a breathtaking
performance of swing and seam bowling, hitting the poles four times with two
leg before wickets in between. After being involved in all seven of the initial
Mumbai wicket falls, RCB had already qualified for the playoffs.
She took six wickets in her following fifteen deliveries after taking no
wickets in her opening nine overs, as Mumbai fell from 61 for 1 in 8.3 overs to
82 for 7 in 13. In all, Perry bowled 18 dot balls in her four-over spell,
leaving Mumbai clueless.
After RCB lost their
top three swiftly, Perry excelled with the bat as well, as if taking six
wickets wasn’t enough. There would have been some nerves in the RCB camp at 39
for 3 after 6.1 overs. Perry struck Saika Ishaque for a four and a six to end
some of them. Then, Sciver-Brunt gave Ghosh a huge reprieve when he again
shelled an easy catch off Ismail at midwicket. And Ghosh made Mumbai pay, not
Molineux.
Both hitters pitched their innings well, opening up their shoulders as soon as
they understood the surface. Perry’s delivery of Vastrakar over mid-on to get
RCB over the line and complete the victory in 15 overs was fitting.