RCB vs MI, WPL 2023: 3 moments that generated buzz among fans in Match 19
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) suffered a four-wicket defeat against Mumbai Indians (MI) at the DY Patil Sports Academy in the 19th match of the inaugural Women's Premier League (WPL) on Tuesday, March 21.
MI won the toss and decided to field first. Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. did a fine job with the ball, restricting the Bangalore-based side to 129/9 in 20 overs. Amelia Kerr was the pick of the bowlers, bagging three scalps.
Issy Wong and Natalie Sciver-Brunt also chipped in with tidy spells, picking up two wickets each. The RCB batters failed to get going in the contest. They were ultimately able to register a decent total, thanks to Richa Ghosh's quickfire cameo of 29 runs towards the end.
While MI kept losing wickets at regular intervals, they managed to chase down the score in 16.3 overs to secure a crucial win. Kerr remained unbeaten on 31 runs, while wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia scored 30 runs at the top.
With this win, Mumbai have occupied the top position in the points table. They will advance straightaway to the final if Delhi Capitals (DC) lose to UP Warrioz (UPW) in the final league fixture of WPL 2023.
RCB, on the other hand, finished in the penultimate position after winning just two of their eight league matches.
While the contest between the two star-studded teams didn't live up to the hype, there were certainly a few things that caught the attention of fans. Here, we take a look at three such moments.
#1 RCB captain Smriti Mandhana turned bowler in the team's clash against MI
Smriti Mandhana failed to fire with the bat in WPL 2023, finishing with 149 runs from eight outings at a paltry average of 18.62. The left-handed batter managed 24 runs against MI before falling to Amelia Kerr.
She had a great day in the field in the second half of the match, grabbing four catches. Mandhana also tried her hand at bowling, coming in to bowl the 17th over of MI's innings.
The 26-year-old started off with a poor delivery that was smashed for a four. Furthermore, she gave away five wides on her third delivery. Mandhana bowled just three legal deliveries and conceded nine runs as MI chased down the target in the same over.
#2 Hayley Matthews got a massive reprieve as Sophie Devine oversteps
Bowling the second over of MI's innings, RCB all-rounder Sophie Devine bowled an impressive outswing that took the edge of Hayley Matthews' bat and went straight into the hands of the keeper.
The on-field umpire adjudged the batter out. However, Matthews got a big reprieve as the delivery was later called a no-ball, with replays showing that Devine had overstepped.
The right-handed batter mustered 24 runs off 17 deliveries and was ultimately dismissed by Megan Schutt in the eighth over.
#3 Sophie Devine got run out in controversial fashion
Sophie Devine, who dazzled viewers with a whirlwind 99-run knock in RCB's previous fixture, was run out for a duck in the very first over against MI.
Devine hit the third ball of the over towards the backward point and set off for a quick single. However, there was some miscommunication between the two batters as they were both running towards the keeper's end at one point in time.
The star batter was caught short of her crease when wicketkeeper Yastika Bhatia dislodged the bails. The dismissal grabbed a lot of eyeballs as it appeared that the wicketkeeper had broken the stumps with her forearm.
However, the dismissal was completely legal. According to the rules, if the ball is in the gloves, anything under the keeper's elbow breaking the stumps is considered legal.