WPL 2025 MI vs RCB: MI Clinches Exciting Victory Of 4 Wickets

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MI vs RCB: In a cliffhanger in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025, the Mumbai Indians (MI) chased down a target of 168 runs defeating the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the end by four wickets with only two balls to spare. Despite a dazzling performance from Ellyse Perry, MI’s bowling unit stood its ground, while late blitzes from Amanjot Kaur and G Kamalini sealed the deal for MI.

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MI’s Tight Bowling Restricts RCB to 167 For 7

Electing to bowl first after winning the toss, MI’s bowlers kept things in check and restricted RCB to 167 for 7. Whereas Perry struck a masterful knock of 81 off 43 balls, the balance of the batting at RCB failed to hold up. Some very timely breakthroughs by the MI bowlers, namely Shabnim Ismail, Nat Sciver-Brunt, and Amanjot Kaur, ensured that RCB never gained momentum.

Collapse of RCB’s Batting Performance

RCB’s façade with Smriti Mandhana (26 off 13) and Perry leading the charge started off well until a slew of quick wickets brought the side back to 62 for 4 just after the ninth over. Perry kept the boat from sinking; however, RCB could not recover after her dismissal in the penultimate over, headed to a total of 167 for 7. Other notable contributions came from Richa Ghosh (28) and Kanika Ahuja (3), but they were unable to guide RCB further to a total.

The Clash of Ismail and Mandhana

One of the highlights of the match was the tussle between MI’s fastest bowler Shabnim Ismail and RCB captain Smriti Mandhana. Ismail began with a good delivery and made Mandhana miscue a pull shot, but Mandhana made amends almost immediately, cracking a couple of boundaries off Ismail.

She even went after Nat Sciver-Brunt, hitting her for a straight six. It was this counterattack by Mandhana that kept RCB alive until she was eventually dismissed by Ismail, caught behind off a delivery at a speed troubling enough for Mandhana-to a slow as fourteen runs in ten deliveries-caught out by Yastika Bhatia.

Perry Alone Shines in the Loss

Once Mandhana was dismissed, Perry stepped up and really took matters into her own hands. With an unrivaled force of fistic fury, she took her fifty off 30 balls, with some incredible shots under her belt, including that monster six of Amelia Kerr. Together with Richa Ghosh, she strung a partnership that worked wonders in bringing RCB back on track, but MI bowled better and ambushed both Ghosh and Perry.

Perry’s innings were bright and shining at 81 in an otherwise dismal performance around her in the RCB innings, which wasn’t good enough to stop MI from chasing down the target though.

Harmanpreet Kaur’s Half-Century On Track for MI

MI recovered from the setback after the solid 66/2 start in the first six overs to chase 168, with Kaur giving it a well-paced 50 off 38 balls. Despite the wickets falling in the middle stage of the innings, she provided the required resilience and was unlucky to be dismissed by Georgia Wareham, who sadly also claimed the wicket of Sajeevan Sajana in this over.

Amanjot Kaur’s cool helped seal the shower for MI

With MI needing 22 runs from 12 balls, Amanjot showed up at the most opportune moment, smashing two sixes off Kanika Ahuja to bring it down to a reasonable equation of one run per ball in the final over. With two runs required in two balls, the last-minute ride had G Kamalini completing it with a clean cover drive off Ekta Bisht to seal victory for MI.

MI Continues its Dominance

This win puts the Mumbai Indians on the top of the table in WPL 2025, with the coveted ‘unbeaten side’ tag. The RCB batting lineup could not build on the effort by Ellyse Perry, and MI’s disciplined bowling was the perfect antidote to that. MI also had healthy contributions from Harmanpreet Kaur, Amanjot Kaur, and G Kamalini in a chase that was completed with two balls to spare.

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