Riding on an all-round performance from Ellyse Perry, Royal Challengers Bangalore-Women (RCB-W) secured a berth in the eliminator after defeating Mumbai Indians-Women (MI-W) by seven wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday (Mar 12) evening. 

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Perry picked six wickets and quite effectively stopped the high-flying Mumbai batting lineup from setting up a competitive total after Hayley Matthews and S Sajana provided a 43-run opening partnership. 

The Australian, widely regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders to ever play the sport, accounted for the wickets of MI captain Harmanpreet Kaur, Amelia Kerr and Pooja Vastrakar among others. She created history by becoming the first player in WPL history to bag a six-wicket haul while Mumbai recorded the second-lowest total. 

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Chasing a lowly target of 114, RCB made the task tricky for themselves as openers Smriti Mandhana and Sophie Molineux could not get going and departed with the scoreboard reading 25/2 at the end of the fifth over. 

The situation could have been worse if Nat Sciver-Brunt had not put down two dollies, effectively giving a reprieve to Molineux and Richa Ghosh.  

With the chase in jeopardy, Perry (40*) once again took responsibility and forged a crucial 76-run partnership alongside Ghosh, with the latter taking the aggressive route. 

Everything came together

In the end, RCB-W coasted home comfortably with seven wickets and 30 balls in the kitty to set up a repeat of today’s game in the eliminator, scheduled for Friday (Mar 15). Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals-Women have already qualified for the final where they will meet the winner of the eliminator. 

Quizzed after the match about her scintillating performance, Perry said it was one of those days when everything came together. 

“Sometimes it just goes your way, doesn’t it? It was just nice to come out and play a great match with the girls. Nice to get a win against a side like Mumbai Indians – it was our first since the competition started. I really enjoy bowling. Our coaches backed me. Just felt that conditions were good. I just managed to find the right spot,” said Perry. 

Brief scores: Mumbai Indians 113 ( Hayley Matthews 26, S Sajana 30; Ellyse Perry 6-15) lose to Royal Challengers Bangalore: 115/3 in 15 overs (Ellyse Perry 40*, Richa Ghosh 36*, Hayley Matthews 1/11).

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