Image Credit- BCCI
In the Friday night
eliminator in Delhi, Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated the reigning champion
Mumbai Indians by five runs, securing their first-ever spot in the WPL final.
Following Ellyse Perry’s outstanding 66, which helped RCB reach 135 for 6, Mumbai
was eliminated by a cool, collected bowling performance, particularly in the
latter stages.
With seven wickets remaining and a requirement of 20 runs in three overs,
Mumbai looked to have the low-scoring, momentum-shifting match. But at a
critical juncture, Mumbai was damaged by RCB’s spin combination of Asha
Sobhana, Sophie Molineux, and Shreyanka Patil, who shut down the runs and
claimed three wickets.
The uncapped Asha then maintained her composure and delivered a final over
without a boundary when the equation came down to 12 runs off six balls to put
RCB in the final against Delhi Capitals.
Mumbai began with a
14-run opening over from Shabnim Ismail, but they bounced back with a powerplay
that saw them secure three RCB wickets. Hayley Matthews bowled the following
over, and Smriti Mandhana got things started by lofting one over mid-off for her
second boundary. However, Matthews quickly returned to the game, dismissing
Devine with a length ball that veered away from the right-hand hitter after she
misplayed the line.
Nat Sciver-Brunt was then brought in by Harmanpreet Kaur, and it was successful.
Mandhana misplayed a length delivery thrown outside off to deep cover, and she
hit with her second ball. Disha Kasat, a right-hand hitter, came in at number
four and attempted to produce a lofted shot but was caught at cover point.
After struggling
through her 19-ball 14, Richa Ghosh was removed by Matthews in the 10th over,
leaving the RCB at 49 for 4. Perry, though, seemed unperturbed by the wickets
falling. She played a calculated knock, picked up lengths early, and surged
when needed. Even though there weren’t many loose deliveries from the Mumbai
bowlers, the orange-cap holder managed to score.
Vastrakar went short and smacked her over deep midwicket for six after she
calmly played out 21 deliveries to reach 17. Following a 35-run run-a-ball
partnership for the fifth wicket with Molineux (11 off 17), Perry increased the
pace with Wareham (18* off 10) and played as many balls as possible in the last
moments. Perry and Wareham put on 42 off just 26, with RCB scoring 51 runs in
the last five overs.
Mumbai didn’t have
to panic despite their sluggish start because Harmanpreet and Kerr were still
in the team. Their goal was to continue getting singles and to identify the odd
border for each over. The Mumbai duo had difficulty scoring runs because of Molineux
and Patil, but they managed to relieve some of the burden. In the partnership,
Kerr went hard on Wareham for two fours, and Harmanpreet, who was on 21 off 22
at one point, hammered Perry for two. In 44 balls, the two shared a 52-run
stand.
Mumbai simply needed
twenty more balls, with eighteen remaining. But Patil’s game-changing
eighteenth over was still to come. Following a huge stumping opportunity that
Ghosh missed to remove Harmanpreet with the opening ball, Patil pushed
Harmanpreet to step out once more from her penultimate delivery, but she was
bowled out to long-on for 33.
Mumbai needed to make sixteen off twelve as Molineux delivered the penultimate
over. She bowled from both sides of the wicket, varying her lengths. When S
Sajana skipped down and failed to make a reckless swing, she was disqualified
off the fifth ball. Ghosh left 12 for the last over after making no mistakes
behind the stumps this time.
Legspinner Asha
received the ball before Devine and Renuka Singh since there were two
right-hand batsmen, Kerr and Vastrakar, at the crease. Mandhana did this. In
the first three balls, she gave up just four runs and removed Vastrakar. Kerr
eventually needed a six off the last ball to force extra innings, but all she
could muster was a misplayed shot for one.