The script remains woeful for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League. The Smriti Mandhana-led side fell to its fourth loss on the trot, this time a 10-wicket drubbing at the hands of UP Warriorz at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Friday.
Mandhana won the toss and opted to bat first and came in with a side featuring three changes - Megan Schutt sat out for Erin Burns while Sahana Pawar and Komal Zanzad replaced Preeti Bose and Poonam Khemnar respectively.
However, Mandhana’s poor run continued with yet another low score. Mandhana’s struggles against off-spin came to the fore once more when Rajeshwari Gayakwad bowled one outside off stump, forcing her to slice the ball. Unfortunately, she found Anjali Sarvani at extra cover.
Sophie Devine could only manage a 24-ball 36 while trying to anchor the innings with Ellyse Perry. Wickets in fell succession and Perry took control of the middle overs with Shreyanka Patil and Erin Burns chipping in at the other end. However, a disciplined UP attack exposed the nerves and technical troubles of the RCB batters.
Deepti Sharma, who has been having a sub-standard tournament, stepped up with the ball. She removed Kanika Ahuja and Burns, and eventually knocked off half-centurion Perry. Sophie Ecclestone, who nipped Devine’s promising start in the bud, then essayed the clean-up act as she took out Shreyanka, Renuka Singh and Sahana to restrict RCB to just 138 in 19.3 overs. UP did not concede a single extra and went with a spin-dominated attack, staying true to their objectives at the auction.
Chasing 139, Alyssa Healy was joined by Devika Vaidya, with the team management deciding against the Healy-Sehrawat pairing up top. It turned out to be a great game to experiment with the pair giving UP its second win in three games, with seven overs to spare. Healy (96 n.o. off 47 deliveries) missed out on a century but will take the win and the points to boot.
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