Ellyse Perry, Sophie Molineux, and Shreyanka Patil take charge as RCB eliminates the defending champions MI, to reach their maiden WPL final.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore led by skipper Smriti Mandhana had a topsy, turvy campaign after a bright start to their season with a couple of victories in their first couple of matches. However, they just managed a couple of victories in their next six games, and as a result, just managed to sneak into the eliminator courtesy of their comprehensive victory in their last league game against the defending champions Mumbai Indians.
Mumbai Indians on the other hand, led by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur had a good and consistent campaign as they managed to finish 2nd on the points table with 10 points from eight games. Mumbai Indians were all set to face RCB in the eliminator. Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Smriti Mandhana won the toss and opted to bat first in the eliminator.
Sophie Devine was promoted to open the innings alongside skipper Smriti Mandhana. The duo got off to a flying start, scoring 10 runs an over for the first couple of overs before they lost three wickets in quick succession and found themselves at 23/3 in the 4th over. Wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh joined Ellyse Perry at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 26-run partnership for the 4th wicket before Hayley Matthews picked up the wicket of the wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh to provide the 4th breakthrough for Mumbai Indians.
Sophie Molineux joined Ellyse Perry at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 35-run partnership for the 5th wicket before Nat Sciver-Brunt came back and cleaned up Sophie Molineux to provide the 5th breakthrough for her side. RCB eventually ended up with a total of 135/6 in their quota of overs, courtesy of the 42-run partnership for the 6th wicket between Ellyse Perry and Georgia Wareham.
Ellyse Perry, the Lone Warrior ❤️🫡
Scored 66 (50) & picked 1/29 in a do-or-die encounter. #CricketTwitter #WPL2024 #RCBvMI #MIvRCB pic.twitter.com/92E1Bq8MfV
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) March 15, 2024
Ellyse Perry (66 off 50 balls), Georgia Wareham (18 off 10 balls), and wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh (14 off 19 balls) were the top performers with the bat for RCB. Nat Sciver-Brunt (4-0-18-2), Hayley Matthews (4-0-18-2), and Saika Ishaque (3-0-27-2) were the top performers with the ball for the Mumbai Indians. Chasing a target of 136, the Mumbai Indian’s openers got off to a steady start, before they lost the wicket of Hayley Matthews. Shreyanka Patil provided the first breakthrough for RCB.
Nat Sciver-Brunt joined wicket-keeper batter Yastika Bhatia at the crease, and the duo stitched a 23-run partnership for the 2nd wicket before Ellyse Perry cleaned up wicket-keeper batter Yastika Bhatia to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side. Nat Sciver-Brunt soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 3rd breakthrough for RCB.
Amelia Kerr joined skipper Harmanpreet Kaur at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 52-run partnership for the 4th wicket before Shreyanka Patil picked up the big wicket of the opposition skipper Harmanpreet Kaur to provide the 4th breakthrough for RCB. Mumbai Indians were eventually restricted to 130/6 in their quota of overs, falling agonizingly short of the target by five runs.
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (33 off 30 balls), Amelia Kerr (27 off 25 balls), and Nat Sciver-Brunt (23 off 17 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Mumbai Indians. Shreyanka Patil (4-0-16-2), Sophie Molineux (4-0-16-1), and Ellyse Perry (4-0-29-1) were the top performers with the ball for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Ellyse Perry was awarded the Player of the Match for her sensational all-round performance, scoring (66 off 50 balls) with the bat and returning with match figures (4-0-29-1) with the ball. She played a pivotal role in helping RCB reach their maiden WPL final. They will face Delhi Capitals led by skipper Meg Lanning in one final ultimate showdown at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on 17th March 2024.