The Royal Challengers Bengaluru, led by skipper Smriti Mandhana, faced their first defeat in the third edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) at the hands of the Mumbai Indians by four wickets with a ball to spare on February 21, 2025. The clash was a testament to the competitive spirit of both teams, with standout performances from key players.
Bengaluru began strongly after being put to bat first at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, with Smriti Mandhana providing an electrifying start with 26 off 13 balls. However, Mumbai quickly gained momentum, reducing Bengaluru to 57/4 by the eighth over. Shabnim Ismail was instrumental in dismissing Mandhana, setting the stage for a crucial recovery. The partnership between Ellyse Perry and Richa Ghosh was pivotal, taking the score past the 100-run mark.
Ellyse Perry, who had just overcome an injury before the start of the season, emerged as the star of the evening with a career-best score of 81 off 43 balls. Her knock, laced with 11 boundaries and two maximums, was lauded as “masterful” by batting coach RX Muralidhar. “Outstanding effort from Perry considering the situation that we were in,” he noted.
Despite the loss, the team expressed pride in their resilience and fighting spirit. Coach Luke Williams highlighted the team’s capacity for improving in all departments, “We probably weren’t as good as we’re capable of for long enough,” he said. He also praised the batting effort of Ellyse Perry, emphasizing her intent and decision-making, which echoed the team’s pre-game strategy.
Wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh also attributed her success partly to her conversation with Perry during their crucial partnership. “Initially struggled for one over or so in my innings, Ellyse Perry only told me one thing, which was to time the ball, because (Shabnim) Ismail has good pace.”
“Obviously, I know you all are disappointed. We always come into a game wanting to win and sometimes it doesn’t work out. We showed a lot of fight in both innings at different times and there are plenty of positives we can take out,” coach Luke Williams spoke about taking the positives from the game.
One of the key takeaways from the match was the fielding prowess of Mumbai, which Luke Williams acknowledged was the best Bengaluru faced this season. “We were outfielded tonight by Mumbai, that’s another challenge for us to bounce back,” he highlighted.
However, the vocal crowd support at Chinnaswamy Stadium was palpable, with Georgia Wareham calling it “deafening.” “Yeah, it was amazing, the crowd support, is always amazing here,” she added. Richa Ghosh echoed similar sentiments, praising the crowd’s energy.
Despite the loss, the team remains optimistic. Assistant head coach Malolan Rangarajan was pleased with the team’s ability to bounce back, a spirit that they’ve shown since last year. Coach Luke Williams emphasized that the match outcome should give them even more confidence, noting, “No matter what, we’re a very, very hard team to beat when we compete hard and stick together like that which we showed tonight.”
Despite the setback, Royal Challengers Bengaluru remains resolute and focused on improving their performance across all departments, bolstered by the unwavering support of their fans at Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The Smriti Mandhana-led side will be up against the UP Warriorz led by skipper Deepti Sharma in the 9th match of the ongoing 3rd edition of the tournament on 24th February 2025 (Monday) from 7:30 PM IST at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
(Quotes sourced from video posted on RCBTweets)
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