Bengaluru, Feb 21 (IANS) Elysse Perry rescued the Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s innings against Mumbai Indians with a well-crafted 81-run knock in the clash of two Women’s Premier League (WPL) champions here on Friday. Despite Mumbai taking early wickets, RCB managed to score 167/7 in 20 overs, setting up a tough chase in the seventh game of Season 3 of WPL at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Perry’s innings was a combination of fire and ice, enthralling the fans with 11 boundaries and two sixes even as she watched her batting partners struggle at the other end while thriving at the other.
Captain Smriti Mandhana continued her onslaught, having scored 81 runs in their last game against the Delhi Capitals, and flew straight out of the floodgates by hitting Shabnim Ismail for two boundaries in the opening over.
However, it was Shabnim who had the last laugh. Mandhana continued her strong hitting with two fours in the third over before being caught off guard with a back-of-the-length delivery. An attempted pull saw the RCB skipper edge the ball which went straight up in the air making for an easy catch for Yastika Bhatia.
Elysse Perry did not take any time to make a statement by smashing a four, over square leg, on the very next ball.
Danni Wyatt-Hodge was the next to depart as an outside off delivery by Nat Sciver-Brunt saw the English batter try and hammer the ball into the stands but ended up giving a simple catch to Hayley Matthews.
Raghvi Bisht’s underwhelming start to the season continued as she was dismissed on her third delivery by Hayley in the very next over. A slower ball outside off saw Raghvi try to dispatch it for a six but was caught by the fielder at Deep mid-off. Kanika Ahuja also struggled against spin before being bowled over by Sanskriti Gupta in her first over of the game.
Richa Ghosh, RCB’s hero from the opening game against Gujarat, and Perry combined for a vital 50-run partnership to take the home side to a defendable total.
The duo slowly navigated, during a 29-ball period where they failed to find the boundary before Elysse and Richa hit Hayle for a four and six respectively in the 10th over.
With the duo getting set well and a huge total looking more and more likely for the home side, Mumbai Indians skipper Harmanpreet Kaur called on the services of Amanjot Kaur and she delivered instantly by knocking over the wicket of Richa.
With wickets falling from one end, Perry continued her strong hitting and raced to her fifty in 30 deliveries. After reaching the milestone, she switched gears and went on to take RCB to a defendable total before being caught on the second-last delivery of the innings.
The average first innings score at the venue was 152 in the 2024 WPL, meaning the 2023 winners of the tournament have a huge task on their hands in the second innings.
Brief score:
RCB 167/7 in 20 overs (Elysse Perry 81, Richa Ghosh 28, Smriti Mandhana 26; Amanjot Kaur 3-22, Sanskriti Gupta 1-3) vs Mumbai Indians.
–IANS
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