Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s defence of their Women’s Premier League crown is over, but they have departed the 2025 competition in style, snapping a five-match losing streak to inflict Mumbai Indians’ first defeat at home in the event.
Bolstered by an explosive closing partnership of 46 runs off the last 14 balls by Ellyse Perry (49 not out off 38 balls) and Georgia Wareham (31 not out off ten balls) RCB racked up 3/199 in the final group match of the competition.
Mumbai Indians, who would have booked direct entry into the final with a win, were rarely in the hunt, and when Perry caught a skier off her own bowling to dismiss Nat Sciver-Brunt (69 off 35) the tie was effectively over.
Mumbai finished on 9-188, losing by 11 runs.
The only franchise without an Australian in their squad Mumbai now face Gujarat Giants (Beth Mooney, Ash Gardner, Phoebe Litchfield) on the same Brabourne ground in the eliminator on Thursday.
The winner will play Delhi Capitals (Meg Lanning, Jess Jonassen, Annabel Sutherland) in Saturday’s final.
RCB’s quartet of green-and-gold will be heading home, but they do so with some consolation. Besides the runs of Perry and Wareham there was a first WPL wicket for Heather Graham and a brace for Kim Garth (2-33).
Having nothing but pride to play for appeared to relax RCB, freeing up skipper Smririt Mandhana in particular. Having made 54 in five innings during that losing run the Mumbai-born left-hander cracked 53 off 37 balls as RCB reached 1-100 before her dismissal.
After Richa Ghosh smacked 36 off 22 balls Perry and Wareham came together for their destructive closing cameo amid a welter of dropped catches. Perry finishes the WPL as the second-highest run-scorer of the group stage after Sciver-Brunt’s 416, with 372 runs at the far superior average of 93.
With Sneh Rana taking 3-26 Mumbai were never up with the rate which exceeded two-runs-a-ball from the halfway point onward.
They did briefly threaten a shock in the last over. With 28 to win Perry followed two wides with being dispatched twice by Sajeevan Sajana for six, but she held her nerve to dismiss the batter and pick up a second, albeit expensive wicket, finishing with 2-53 from four overs.
Content Source: www.perthnow.com.au