Smriti Mandhana, Ellyse Perry help RCB finish home leg with win vs UP Warriorz

Royal Challengers Bangalore finished their home leg in style winning their reverse fixture against UP Warriorz by 23 runs.

Having won their first fixture by a bare margin of 2 runs, RCB showed much better strength with their bat, winning Monday’s game on March 4.

Smriti Mandhana and Ellyse Perry starred for RCB on the day with a tremendous 95-run stand between them in the first innings. Having set a target of 199 runs against Alyssa Healy’s side, RCB bowled well and survived an opening assault from Healy to seal the game.

Strong Start from Warriorz
UP Warriorz had started well in their record chase of 199 runs and were keeping up with the run rate throughout the powerplay overs. After conceding a maiden over against Renuka Singh, captain Alyssa Healy looked in menacing mode as she notched up a quick 47-run partnership with Kiran Navgire for the first wicket.

Navgire did her job with a cameo of 18 off 11 balls and fell in the second ball of the 5th over. The stage was set for one of the most aggressive batters in women’s cricket – Chamari Athapaththu to prove her worth. The Sri Lankan started off her innings by hitting two boundaries and then was trapped in the front of the wicket by Georgia Wareham.

DRS Controversy
And this is where the game turned. The umpire gave Athapaththu not out after the ball struck the left-hander on the leg stump, while turning into her. RCB reviewed straightaway and looked confident in their call.

The DRS showed that the ball was a googly (and not a leg spinner) and was hitting the stumps. This left Athapaththu and Healy furious and the Australian was seen shouting at the camera ‘No Way, No Way’ at the top of her voice.

After this incident in the 7th over, UP lost a series of wickets at quick intervals and eventually lost the match by 23 runs. If not for Deepti Sharma’s rearguard action (33 off 22), UP would not have come close to their 178-run total.

Asha Sobhana (2/29) were the pick among the bowlers and picked 2 wickets on the day. Sophie Devine and Georgia Wareham also picked two wickets but were quite expensive on the day, leaking 37 runs each.

RCB’s Assault
Earlier in the first innings, Royal Challengers Bangalore dominated the play throughout. Playing their final match at home ground, RCB changed their opening combination. The hosts decided to promote Sabbhineni Meghana and demote Sophie Devine down the order.

The move paid off as the RCB openers started aggressively. Meghana notched up 28 off 21 before getting out in the final over of the powerplay after hitting an array of boundaries. From there on, it was a proper assault on UP bowlers from Smriti Mandhana and Ellyse Perry, who notched up a partnership of 95 runs off just 64 balls. Mandhana was the dominant one in the partnership, hitting 59 off 38 balls.

The left-hander hit some elegant shots in her 80-run innings, which was laced with 10 boundaries and 3 sixes.

Alongside Mandhana, Ellyse Perry brought up her first fifty of the season and scored 58 runs off 37 balls. Nothing went according to the plan for the Warriorz, who were haywire with their lines and lengths. Rajeshwari Gayakwad was the most expensive bowler for UP on the day. The left-arm off spinner was hit around the park by Mandhana and gave away 43 runs from her 3 overs. Sophie Ecclestone was the only bowler to manage an economy under 6 from the UP side. She bowled 4 overs and gave away 22 runs.

RCB Break Losing Streak
This was an important win for the RCB side, who had lost two back to back matches in the tournament. The Mandhana’s team jumped from the fourth spot to third with 6 points from 5 matches. RCB will next play Gujarat Giants on 6 March in New Delhi.