RCB Women defeat MI Women for consolation victory

Smriti Mandhana top-scored with 53 from 37 balls and Ellyse Perry finished unbeaten on 49 from 38 balls but it was Georgia Wareham’s 31 not out from just 10 balls which did most to ensure the Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women won their WPL match against the Mumbai Indians Women at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday.

It was a consolation 11-run victory for the RCB Women who posted an imposing total of 199-3 having already been eliminated from the playoff-stages, but a costly defeat for the MI Women who would have finished top of the log and avoided the Qualifier Match had they won.

England’s Nat Sciver-Brunt did her best in the run-chase with 69 from just 35 balls (9x4, 2x6) but there was substantive support as the MI Women closed on 188-9 with RCB offspinner Sneh Rana claiming 3-26 and Australian new-ball pairing Kim Garth (2-33) and Perry (2-53) a brace apiece.

Mandhana earlier batted until the 12th over, striking six fours and three sixes to control the innings but Wareham put the game beyond MI with a fiery cameo in which she struck six of the ten balls faced to the boundary, five on the grass and one in the air.

Richa Ghosh was made to look pedestrian in comparison with her 36 from 22 balls with five fours and a six.

The result means the Delhi Capitals Women retain their place at the top of the log and a direct passage into the final with five wins and 10 points from their eight matches while the MI Women will play the Gujrat Giants Women in the Qualifier for the second place in the final.

RCB WOMEN: Sabbhineni Meghana, Smriti Mandhana (captain), Ellyse Perry, Richa Ghosh (wkt), Georgia Wareham, Kanika Ahuja, Heather Graham, Sneh Rana, Kim Garth, Prema Rawat, VJ Joshitha

MI WOMEN: Hayley Matthews, Amelia Kerr, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Amanjot Kaur, Yastika Bhatia (wkt), Sajeevan Sajana, G.Kamalini, Sanskriti Gupta, Shabnim Ismael, Parunika Sisodia