WPL 2024: Back to the pinnacle, where the Royal Challengers Bangalore embark. After losing their previous two games, Smriti Mandhana and co. asserted their supremacy with an emphatic win in the UPW vs RCB challenge. RCB ended their home leg in style, defeating UP Warriorz by 23 runs. After winning their first match by a mere two runs, RCB showed considerably greater strength with the bat in Monday’s game on March 4.
UP Warriorz won the toss and elected to bowl first as Sabbhineni Meghana and Smriti Mandhana walked down the ground to kick the game off. After a silent first over that received just two runs but the second over got a four each from the bats of both the openers.
After two boundaries by Meghana in the third over, the skipper came up with the first maximum of the match in the fourth over followed by her second in the fifth over. Still, Meghana had to leave the partnership in the last over of the powerplay as Anjali Sarvani got the breakthrough.
Mandhana and Ellyse Perry kept the scoreboard moving with singles and timely boundaries as the skipper lofted for another time in the 12tn over for a maximum which was contemplated well by Perry with a six from her bat in the 13th over as Mandhana was past her half-century which she rejoiced well with three back-to-back boundaries in the fifteenth over and three more in the following over and Mandhana finally had to depart in the 17th over after scoring 80 off just 50.
ALSO READ: WPL 2024: UP Warriorz (UPW) – SWOT Analysis
Richa Ghosh with a perfect flying catch towards the left 😎
— Women's Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) March 4, 2024
The dangerous Grace Harris departs and Sophie Devine gets her second scalp!
Live 💻📱https://t.co/iplAqFh4Yz#TATAWPL | #UPWvRCB pic.twitter.com/phWcmMyOEV
Although the scoreboard was on a giant surge when Mandhana left the party of runs, Perry and Richa Ghosh kept things on track with two sixes from Perry and one from Ghosh. Perry too finally had to depart for the pavilion in the last over’s first ball only after hitting one more boundary and a maximum which was laid well with a final boundary by Ghosh on the last ball of the last over.
Just as with the batting, the bowling attack started well with a maiden by Renuka Singh but the second over was overcome well by Alyssa Healy with two consecutive maximums followed by the first maximum from Kiran Navgire in the third over as she joined hands further with two more boundaries in the same over, but she finally had to depart in the fifth over at just 18 off 11 balls. The powerplay ended with Chamari Athapaththu’s two back-to-back boundaries to sum up at 56.
Things looked to build up with Healy contemplating Athapaththu’s boundaries with a six in the seventh over, but she had to leave for the dugout much early at just 8. Although Healy kept swaying her bat from her end but the other end was left loose from other batters down the line as Grace Harris, the new down, got her only boundary before finally getting dismissed in the 8th over. But Healy went beyond her efforts to collect three back-to-back boundaries in the 9th over.
ALSO READ: WPL 2024: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) – SWOT Analysis
Next to depart in the queue was Shweta Sehrawat as Asha Sobhana dismissed her for just 1 off 5 crucial balls. Deepti Sharma, the fresh up in the line, tried to join hands with Healy to get the scoreboard moving stable with timely boundaries, one in the 11th and another in the 12th over but that could only result in another disappointment for Warriorz as the set Healy got succumbed to Sophie Molineux’s breathtaking delivery in the 13th over.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore bounce back in style 😎#RCB clinch a crucial 23-run win in their final game at the Chinnaswamy 🏟️🥳
— Women's Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) March 4, 2024
Live 💻📱https://t.co/iplAqFh4Yz#TATAWPL | #UPWvRCB | @RCBTweets pic.twitter.com/Eq4lk6kNkC
Poonam Khemnar and Sharma tried to pull things up for their team as Sharma came up valiantly with a maximum in the 14th over followed by Khemnar’s boundaries, one in the 15th over and two more in the 16th over. But the long-fought knock of Sharma finally came to an end in the 18th over as Asha Sobhana struck harder to get her catch right into her hands.
Sophie Ecclestone too just followed a cheap thoroughfare with only a boundary before her dismissal in the 19th over followed by Khemnar’s one boundary and a six in the same over. And the last over along with the match concluded with three singles, a double and Khemnar’s wicket at 31 off 24.
WPL 2024: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs UP Warriorz Brief scores
Royal Challengers Bangalore 198/3 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 80, Ellyse Perry 58; Sophie Ecclestone 1-22) beat UP Warriorz 175/8 in 20 overs (Alyssa Healy 55, Deepti Sharma 33; Sophie Molineux 2-29, Asha Sobhana 2-29) by 23 runs.
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