WPL 2023 – MI vs RCB: The Mumbai Indians (MI) led by Harmanpreet Kaur are on a victory campaign in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2023. Mumbai defeated the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) led by Smriti Mandhana by nine wickets on Monday. RCB set a target of 156 runs, which Mumbai achieved in just 14.2 overs with only one wicket down.
Mumbai’s Splendid Batting Performance
Opener batter Haley Matthews scored an unbeaten 77 runs off 38 balls with 13 fours and one six. Meanwhile, Natalie Sciver played a knock of 55 runs off 29 balls with nine fours and one six. Matthews and Sciver shared an unbeaten partnership of 114 runs for the second wicket. Yastika Bhatia (23) was the only wicket to fall for Mumbai. She became the victim of Preeti Bose in the fifth over at a total score of 45.
This is Mumbai’s second consecutive win, while it is RCB’s second consecutive loss. Mumbai had defeated the Gujarat Giants by 143 runs in their first match, while RCB had lost their first match against Delhi by 60 runs.
RCB Failed To Keep Their Momentum
Earlier, after winning the toss, RCB scored 155 runs in 18.4 overs. RCB started well after opting to bat first. Smriti Mandhana (23) and Sophie Devine (16) added 39 runs for the first wicket. Saka Ishaq took two wickets in the fifth over. She dismissed Devine and Disha Kasat (0) on the second and fourth balls of the over respectively.
On the second ball of the sixth over, Mandhana became the victim of Heli Matthews. Matthews was able to trap Heather Knight (0) on the third ball of the same over. Elise Perry (13) was run out in the ninth over.
RCB lost their fifth wicket at a total score of 71, after which Richa Ghosh (28) and Kanika Ahuja (22) shared a partnership of 34 runs for the sixth wicket. Kanika was out in the 13th over, while Richa was dismissed in the 14th over. Shreyanka Patil contributed 22 runs, and Renuga Singh scored 2 runs. Megan Schutt made 20 runs and took RCB beyond 150 before returning to the pavilion as the last player. Meanwhile, Preeti Bose remained unbeaten with 1 run. For Mumbai, Heli Matthews took three wickets, while Sakshi Dhudia and Amelia Kerr took two wickets each.
