Spirited RCB deny MI direct entry to final

Despite not being in contention for a place in the final three, defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru bowed out of WPL 2025 in style with a spirited performance to deny Mumbai Indians a direct entry into the final. With a collective effort with both bat and ball, RCB beat MI by 11 runs in the final league game of the season that sent Delhi Capitals to the final for the third straight year. As a result, MI will now face Gujarat Giants in the Eliminator.

For a side that had to hunt down 200 for a place in the final, MI didn't get off to a desired start in the PowerPlay. Even though Hayley Matthews whipped one for a boundary first up and followed it up with three fours off an over from Ellyse Perry, MI's PowerPlay score was still underwhelming as Sneh Rana managed to dismiss both the openers to leave MI at 45 for 2 after the six over mark. Those two wickets meant the onus was now on the experienced pair of Nat Sciver-Brunt and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur to revive the chase.

Unfortunately for the home side, Kim Garth put an end to any such possibilities as Harmanpreet edged a leg-cutter behind to fall for an 18-ball 20. Nat Sciver-Brunt was the only MI batter to put up a fight as she continued to pick up boundaries at regular intervals to keep her side's fading hopes alive. After picking Heather Graham for a four and a six off back-to-back deliveries, Sciver-Brunt took on Rana and Perry as well to bring up another fifty this season which also took her tally beyond 400 - the first player in WPL history to do so. But with too much to do, she had no other choice other than consistently attempt to find the ropes and in that process, she top-edged a delivery and departed, leaving her side needing 71 from 31.

Rana's night became better as she finished her spell with the wicket of Yastika Bhatia as MI were now sinking rapidly. The chase appeared to fizzle out by this time with RCB continuously picking wickets at the death. However, with the tail also chipping in with boundaries, Sajeevan Sajana gave the bowling side a mild scare in the last over despite MI needing 28 for the win. Perry's torrid evening with the ball saw her bowl two wides and concede two sixes that brought the equation down to 12 off 3. But the Australian all-rounder managed to recover as she ensured MI didn't add to their tally at all from the final three deliveries.

Earlier in the evening, it was a powerful finish that led to RCB posting a strong 199 on the board. Having scored only 28 runs in her last four games, Smriti Mandhana turned up in style as she gave RCB a flying start alongside Sabbhineni Meghana. While she took on Shabnim Ismail, Meghana went bonkers against Matthews to race to 26 off just 12 before the West Indian managed to get the last laugh.

The scoring rate did dip for a brief period following the dismissal before Mandhana hammered Amelia Kerr for a couple of sixes and a four in an over to hand her side a timely boost. Perry at the other end didn't look at her fluent best and was striking it at less than 100 while Mandhana raced to her half-century with successive boundaries.

Any hopes the bowling side might have had to restrict RCB to a par score from thereon were crushed as Richa Ghosh chipped in with a vital cameo. Perry made up for lost time as well and started contributing with boundaries. However, it was the Georgia Wareham show right at the end that caught MI offguard as RCB hammered 39 runs from the final 12 deliveries. Perry was pretty much just a spectator at the other end as Wareham smashed five fours and a six in a stunning unbeaten 31 off just 10 deliveries, much to MI's frustration. Given the eventual margin of victory, it's safe to say that Wareham was the difference maker in the end.

Brief scores: RCB W 199/3 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 53, Ellyse Perry 49*; Hayley Matthews 2/37) beat MI W 188/9 in 20 overs (Nat Sciver-Brunt 69; Sneh Rana 3/26, Kim Garth 2/33) by 11 runs