Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - Live
UPW spinners hand RCB fourth defeat
MUMBAI: The manner in which the two teams approached proceedings in anticipation of another belter at Brabourne Stadium was a study in contrast. While Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) went ahead with a largely inexperienced all-Indian bowling unit, UP Warriorz (UPW) stacked their bowling with plenty of spin options.
Utilising as many as 17 overs of spin, the collective figures of UP’s two most experienced spinners, Deepti Sharma and Sophie Ecclestone, read 7.3-39-7. They proved to be the difference as RCB were restricted to just 138, a total that UPW upstaged in just 13 overs with 10 wickets to spare.
Captain Alyssa Healy led the way for UPW with a stroke-filled 96* (47b, 18x4, 1x6). For RCB, it was their fourth consecutive defeat and they remain the only team in the competition yet to win a game.
Smriti’s woes continue
Smriti Mandhana went five balls and 12 minutes without playing an attacking shot. But while she was accumulating the singles, her partner Sophie Devine was mostly dealing in boundaries. It all seemed to be shaping up well at 29/0 in three overs when Mandhana lost her patience and stepped down the track against Rajeshwari Gayakwad. She attempted an almighty heave over extra cover, but failed to clear the inner ring again.
Against a left-arm spinner, the idea was right, but Mandhana had no control over the shot. As she trudged back to her dugout after a long stare down at the
Time: 7:30PM Venue: DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai
turf, her out-of-form status was highlighted further.
RCB’s batting had an array of established overseas batters, and one of them had to come good. While Devine 36 (24b) played her part and Heather Knight’s (2) stay was cut short by a run-out, Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry got going.
UPW spinners came into their own in the middle overs led by Ecclestone. The England leftarm spinner used subtle changes in pace and flight to stay true to her reputation of being a mean T20 bowler. She delivered heavy blows to RCB while ending up with figures of 3.3-13-4.
Ecclestone wasn’t the only one holding up RCB’s progress. Sharma also played her part with a double-wicket over, the 17th of the innings. She first dismissed the on-song Perry 52
Te ams MI
DC
P W 3 3
3
3
3
4
2
2
1
0
L NRR 0 4.228
1
1
2
4
0.965
0.509
-2.327
-2.648
Pts 6
4
4
2
0 (39b) and then cleaned up Erin Burns (12) with a yorker.
RCB have made some odd tactical calls and one of them was Richa Ghosh’s batting position. The big-hitter came in to bat as late as the 17th over on Friday. She was bought for ₹1.9 crore in the auction but has had little impact so far. She ran herself out after a mix-up with debutant Komal Zanzad. Sharma finished with figures of 4-26-3 and RCB could only manage 24 runs in the final six overs.
UPW openers Healy and Devika Vaidya swung the match in their favour in the powerplay itself, racing to 66/0.
138 in 19.3 overs (E Perry 52, S Devine 36; S Ecclestone 4/13, D Sharma 3/26) lost to 139 for no loss in 13 overs (A Healy 96*, D Vaidya 36*) by 10 wickets.