WPL 2023: Mumbai return to their winning ways as RCB end their season with a defeat

Mumbai Indians have yet again taken the top spot in the points table after their thumping victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore on Tuesday. Mumbai Indians suffered a huge defeat against Delhi in their last game so from their point of view, they needed to clinch the top position of the table once again. MI bowlers were excellent with the ball as they restricted RCB to an under-par score. With the bat, MI stuttered a bit, but they crossed the winning line in the end. With this win, Mumbai doubled their winning result against Bangalore as earlier Harmanpreet's team already beat Smriti mandhana's side in this campaign. This was the last league game for both teams in this WPL 2023.

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WPL 2023: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians Match Report

RCB posted a low score after a brilliant spell from Amelia Kerr

The tracks at Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy have shifted from being high-scoring ones at the beginning of the tournament to slower surfaces now. As a result, spin bowlers are expected to have an upper hand, with occasional balls sticking to the pitch. Mumbai Indians won the toss and decided to bowl first. Sophie Devine departed without scoring and RCB suffered a huge blow in the very first over. Smriti Mandhana, the skipper threw away her wicket for the last time in WPL 2023 campaign for 24 runs. Amelia Kerr removed the opposition skipper from the crease. Smriti Mandhan struggled the whole campaign for a big inning but it never came for her. Bangalore reached 56 runs in 10 overs after loosing two wickets.

Amelia Kerr took her second wicket just when she came for her second spell. Heather Knight lost her wicket for 12 runs. These brought Kanika Ahuja onto the pitch. Kerr also dismissed Kanika and Bangalore came into big trouble. Ellyse Perry lost her wicket after scoring a fighting 29 runs after Nat Sciver-Brunt dismissed her for an lbw. RCB were 79/5 when Richa Ghosh came onto the pitch. She instantly acted by understanding the situation. She smashed two huge sixes & three fours & gave Bangalore a reason to fight with a low score. Eventually, she got out for 29 runs in just 13 deliveries when Issy Wong dismissed her.

Bangalore somehow reached 125 runs after loosing 9 wickets at the end of the 20 overs. Amelia Kerr was the star bowler for Mumbai as she picked up three crucial wickets while Nat Sciver-Brunt & Issy Wong both claimed two wickets each to their name.

Amelia Kerr Led Mumbai Indians to their sixth victory of the campaign

Yastika Bhatia & Hayley Matthews started Mumbai's batting inning with a target of 126 runs. A brisk start from both of them as Mumbai decided to finish the match in a hurry. Yastika Bhatia was dealing only in fours while Hayley Matthews was sharpening her bat for the big hits. A fifty runs partnership between the openers was making the game easy for Mumbai. Shreyanka Patil picked up the big wicket of Yastika for 30 runs which allowed a big twist in the game. In the 8th over, Mumbai suffered their second wicket loss as Hayley Matthews returned back to the stands after scoring 24 runs.

Brunt was looking for the big hits but lost her wicket in hurry & RCB came on the verge to make a comeback into the match. Ellyse Perry dismissed the opposition skipper Harmanpreet Kaur for just 2 runs and the match completely turned around between 2-3 overs. Young Amelia Kerr took the responsibility, just like she did while bowling. She made the difference both with the bat & bowl against Bangalore. A well-managed & structured inning from Amelia gave the upper hand to Mumbai still after loosing the quick wickets. Mumbai completed the chase easily in the 16.3 overs with the help of Amelia's unbeaten 31* runs. Mumbai returned back to their winning ways as Bangalore didn't get the win they needed in their last league game of WPL 2023.