A valiant effort from Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Richa Ghosh went in vain as Mumbai Indians bounced back after three consecutive losses, with Nat Sciver-Brunt becoming the first player to score a century in WPL history.
RCB won the toss and put MI in to bat. MI scored 199/4 in their 20 overs and RCB faltered, managing to reach 184/9 in their 20 overs, in what was their second consecutive loss in this WPL after five straight wins.
MI, for the first time this WPL, fielded their core overseas players, Hayley Mathews, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Amelia Kerr and Shabnim Ismail. And it was vintage MI batting. While the opening combination of Sajana Sajeevan and Hayley Mathews failed again, Mathews and Sciver-Brunt got together and blew the RCB bowlers away. Mathews looked in sublime touch, scoring 56 runs off just 39 balls, hitting nine boundaries. Historically, MI have been successful almost every time Sciver-Brunt’s bat has spoken, and today it made historic noise as she became the first centurion in the competition.
Her innings had everything, quick runs, off-side boundaries, on-side boundaries, straight drives, she was seeing the ball like a football and reading it out of the bowler’s hand superbly. Given her consistency in the WPL season after season, it felt fitting that the first century record should be in her name: 100 off 57 balls. MI ended with 199/4, the highest total of the Vadodara leg.
In reply, RCB came out guns blazing, with Grace Harris hitting a hat-trick of boundaries in the second over, and it seemed like they were well on their way to chasing 200. But first Shabnim removed Harris and then Mathews removed Smriti Mandhana, courtesy of a well-judged catch by Poonam Khemnar despite the square-leg umpire being in her eyeline. Mandhana has now been dismissed by an off-spinner in three consecutive games.
In the same over, a poor shot from Georgia Voll to a leg-side delivery from Mathews and a brilliant take from young Rahila Firdous put RCB in deep trouble. The procession of batters returning to the dugout did not stop, Shabnim dismissed Gautami Naik with sheer pace and then removed Radha Yadav, leaving RCB five wickets down within the power play. The task not only seemed uphill but nearly impossible.
Richa clearly had other plans. She first stitched a partnership of 42 (36) with Nadine de Klerk and then 52 (34) with Arundhati Reddy. When Arundhati and Sayali Satghare departed in the same over to the brilliance of Amanjot Kaur, Richa stepped on the pedal and suddenly everyone in the stadium, including MI’s bowlers and fielders, were witnessing raw power at its finest.
Richa was dismissed off the final ball for a superb 90 off 50 balls, with 10 fours and six sixes. Shreyanka Patil also played her part, striking two fours off the last two balls of the 19th over, but Richa and Shreyanka had left themselves with too much to do. Mathews ended with figures of 3/10 (2), Kerr had 2/37 (4), and Shabnim returned 2/25 (4), showing why MI’s core overseas players were crucial to getting their campaign back on track.
MI can now reach a maximum of eight points, with a strong net run rate in their favour. However, Richa’s onslaught ensured they did not run away with the contest entirely. Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Giants can still reach 10 points. DC’s next two games are against GG and UP, while GG face DC and MI in their remaining matches.
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