MI is Denied Straight Access to The Final of TATA WPL 2025 by Spirited RCB.
Newz Daddy Tata WPL 2025 Updates
Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the reigning champions, spectacularly ended the WPL 2025 by denying the Mumbai Indians a direct route to the final and spoiled the party of Mumbai Indian girls, even though RCB were not in the running for a spot in the last three. In the season’s last league match, RCB defeated MI by 11 runs thanks to a combined effort with the bat and the ball, sending the Delhi Capitals to the championship game for the third consecutive year. MI will now play the Gujarat Giants in the Eliminator due to this defeat.
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MI didn’t start the PowerPlay as well as they wanted to for a team that needed to chase down 200 to advance to the final. MI’s PowerPlay score was disappointing despite Hayley Matthews whipping one for a boundary first up and Ellyse Perry hitting three fours off an over. Sneh Rana dismissed both openers, leaving MI at 45 for 2 after the power play. The seasoned duo of Nat Sciver-Brunt and captain Harmanpreet Kaur now had the responsibility of reviving the chase after those two wickets.
Harmanpreet edged a leg cutter behind to fall for an 18-ball 20, but Kim Garth ended any such hopes for the home team. To keep her team’s dwindling hopes alive, Nat Sciver-Brunt, the only MI batter to put up a fight, kept picking up boundaries at regular intervals. Sciver-Brunt took on Rana and Perry after hitting Heather Graham for a four and a six off consecutive deliveries. This helped her get another fifty this season, making her the first player in WPL history to reach 400. She was forced to constantly try to find the ropes because she had too much to do otherwise, and in the process, she top-edged a delivery and left her side in need of 71 from 31.
As MI started to decline quickly, Rana’s night improved as she ended her spell by taking out Yastika Bhatia. By this point, the chase seemed to be becoming an uphill task as RCB kept taking wickets towards the end. Even though MI needed 28 to win, Sajeevan Sajana gave the bowling side a slight scare in the final over, with the tail also chipping in with boundaries. Perry bowled two wides and gave up two sixes during her turbulent night with the ball, which reduced the equation to 12 off 3. However, the Australian all-rounder bounced back, making sure MI didn’t get any more runs from the last three deliveries.
It was a strong finish earlier in the evening that helped RCB score a solid 199. Smriti Mandhana, who has only scored 28 runs in her last four games, arrived in style and provided RCB a strong start with Sabbhineni Meghana. Meghana went crazy against Matthews when she faced Shabnim Ismail, racing to 26 off just 12 before the West Indian got the final laugh.
After the removal, there was a small decline in the scoring rate, but Mandhana quickly gave her team a boost by hitting Amelia Kerr for a pair of sixes and a four in an over. Mandhana sped to her half-century with consecutive boundaries as Perry, at the other end, didn’t look at her fluent best and was hitting it at less than 100.
Richa Ghosh’s crucial cameo dashed any expectations the bowling team might have had of holding RCB to a par total from that point on. Perry started contributing with boundaries and made up for lost time as well. But the Georgia Wareham performance in the end, when RCB smashed 39 runs from the last 12 deliveries, was what really took MI off guard. To MI’s annoyance, Perry was essentially a spectator at the other end as Wareham hammered five fours and a six in an incredible undefeated 31 off only 10 deliveries. It’s safe to assume that Wareham ultimately made the difference, considering the final margin of victory.
Brief Scores:
MI W 188/9 in 20 overs (Nat Sciver-Brunt 69; Sneh Rana 3/26, Kim Garth 2/33) lost to RCB W 199/3 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 53, Ellyse Perry 49*; Hayley Matthews 2/37) by 11 runs.
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