WPL 2023: MI Women defeat RCB Women by 9 wickets

Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore, it is always the clash of the heavyweights. A lot has been spoken and written about this rivalry and it seems that the women have taken it a notch higher. Mumbai Indians women led by India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur had made a thumping start to their WPL campaign as they defeated Gujarat Giants by 143 odd runs in their first outing. On the other hand, RCB women led by Smriti Mandhana suffered a massive heartbreak at the hands of Delhi Capitals women in their very first WPL match. 

Royal Challengers Bangalore won the toss and they decided to bat first. The skipper of 'White Ferns' Sophie Devine opened proceedings with Indian vice-captain Smriti Mandhana. Both Devine and Mandhana looked to score freely and put pressure on Mumbai Indians women and succeeded to some extent. But Mumbai kept their nerves and managed to break the partnership when Devine was batting on 16 off 11 deliveries. Skipper Mandhana too couldn't stay for too long and was dismissed by Hayley Matthews when she was batting on 23 off 17 deliveries. This triggered a collapse and before RCB women could know it, they were reduced to 71/5. Richa Ghosh with her 28 off 26 deliveries and Kanika Ahuja with her 22 off 13 deliveries propelled RCB's score to 155 in their quota of 20



overs.

Mumbai Indians women as dominant as they are started with a bang. Wicketkeeper-batsman Yastika Bhatia opened Mumbai's batting with Hayley Matthews. Before Yastika Bhatia fell, Mumbai had already gone past 40 from 4 overs and were scoring at 10 runs per over. Matthews went berserk after Bhatia's dismissal and counter-attacked the RCB women bowlers which left them stunned and Smriti Mandhana soon ran out of options. MI women's number 3, Nat Sciver-Brunt also joined Matthews in her heroics and made a complete mockery of a score that was not so easy to chase down considering the kind of attack RCB women have at their disposal. Matthews ended with 77 off 38 deliveries and Sciver-Brunt scored a stellar 55 off 29 deliveries. Mumbai chased the target down in 14.2 overs and they have now stamped their dominance on the top of the points table.

Mumbai Indians Women: Yastika Bhatia (wk), Hayley Matthews, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Amelia Kerr, Pooja Vastrakar, Issy Wong, Amanjot Kaur, Humaira Kazi, Jintimani Kalita, Saika Ishaque

Royal Challengers Bangalore Women: Smriti Mandhana (c), Sophie Devine, Ellyse Perry, Disha Kasat, Richa Ghosh (wk), Heather Knight, Kanika Ahuja, Megan Schutt, Shreyanka Patil, Preeti Bose, Renuka Thakur Singh.