Bengaluru: Defending champions Mumbai Indians came up with a clinical all-round performance as they recovered from defeat in their previous match to defeat Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by seven wickets in Match 9 of the Women's Premier League (WPL) Season 2 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.
Electing to field first, Mumbai Indians picked three early wickets and then built on it despite an unbeaten 44 off 38 balls by Ellyse Perry to reach a modest 131/6 in 20 overs. While Perry struck five boundaries during her 38-ball knock, Georgia Wareham was the second-highest scorer with 27 runs.
Chasing 132 for the win, Mumbai Indians rode on solid contributions by Ellyse Perry, Yastika Bhatia, and Nat Sciver-Brunt to reach 133/3 in 15.1 overs and won the match with 29 balls to spare. After starting their campaign with an opening-round win over Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians had suffered a defeat against UP Warriorz in their previous match. Saturday's victory means Mumbai Indians lead with six points from four matches while Delhi Capitals remained on four points.
Opening the bowling, Nat Sciver-Brunt, who was leading the side in the absence of skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, struck the first blow in the third over by sending back RCB skipper Smriti Mandhana for nine while Saika Ishaque made it 31/2 by trapping Sophie Devine LBW. Sciver-Brunt then got Sabbhineni Meghana for 11 to compound RCB's woes.
Though Ellyse Perry waged a lone battle, scoring an unbeaten 44, Richa Ghosh (7) and Sophie Molineux (12) did not contribute much as RCB continued to struggle. Pooja Vastrakar claimed 2-14 while Issy Wong and Saika Ishaque bagged a wicket each. In response, Yastika Bhatia (31) and Hayley Matthews (26) raised 45 runs for the opening wicket. Matthews was next out with a score of 69, caught by Mandhana off Shreyanka Patil, Sciver-Brunt (27) and Amelia Kerr (40 not out) ensured they raced to a comprehensive victory.
Brief scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore 131/6 in 20 overs (Ellyse Perry 44 not out; Nat Sciver-Brunt 2-27, Pooja Vastrakar 2-14) lost to Mumbai Indians 143/3 in 15.1 overs (Amelia Kerr 40 not out, Yastika Bhatia 31, Hayley Matthews 26, Nat Sciver-Brunt 27; Sophie Devine 1-16, Shreyanka Patil 1-15) by seven wickets.
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