Mumbai Indians quickly returned to the winnings ways with a huge seven-wicket triumph against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the ninth match of the Women's Premier League 2024 on Saturday. A win boosted Mumbai Indians to the top position in the points table with three wins in four opening games.
Ellyse Perry returned to the team and scored 44* off 38 balls but RCB were restricted to just 131/6 while batting first at Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium. After an impressive bowling performance, Mumbai batters also overpowered their opponents to chase down the target with seven wickets and 29 balls remaining.
Natalie Sciver-Brunt won the crucial toss as regular skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Shabnim Ismail missed out again due to injuries. Perry returned to the playing eleven for Royal Challengers Bangalore after missing the previous game due to illness.
English pacer Issy Wong gave Mumbai an early success with a big wicket of in-form Smriti Mandhana in the third over who scored just nine runs. RCB batters struggled to find touch but Perry looked in a good rhythm against an impressive bowling performance from Mumbai.
Perry and Georgia Wareham added crucial 52 runs for the sixth wicket as RCB posted 131/6 in 20 overs. Sciver-Brunt and Pooka Vastrakar took two wickets each for Mumbai Indians.
Chasing a low-scoring total, Mumbai openers Yastika Bhatia and Hayley Matthews produced an excellent start by adding 45 runs for the first wicket in just 3.5 overs. Yastika smashed 31 off just 15 balls before losing her wicket to Sophie Devine.
Sciver-Brunt and Amelia Kerr played out a match-defining 49-run stand for the third wicket. Sciver-Brunt threw her wicket after scoring 27 runs and when Mumbai needed 14 runs to win the game in the 14th over. Kerr top-scored with 40* off 24 balls to take MI to the top of the points table.
Royal Challengers Bangalore Playing XI: Smriti Mandhana( c), Sophie Devine, Sabbhineni Meghana, Ellyse Perry, Richa Ghosh (wk), Sophie Molineux, Georgia Wareham, Shreyanka Patil, Simran Bahadur, Asha Sobhana, Renuka Thakur Singh.
Mumbai Indians Playing XI: Hayley Matthews, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Natalie Sciver-Brunt (c), Amelia Kerr, Pooja Vastrakar, Issy Wong, S Sajana, Amanjot Kaur, Humaira Kazi, Keerthana Balakrishnan, Saika Ishaque.
