Bengaluru, Feb 24 (IANS) Elyse Perry’s unbeaten 90 and Danielle Wyatt-Hodge’s 57 helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru post 180/6 in 20 overs against UP Warriorz in the ninth match of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Monday.
Another RCB innings, another Ellyse Perry masterclass. The all-rounder continues to be the backbone of the team, once again guiding them to a total they will feel confident defending. In her second home game of the season, Perry played a commanding knock, ensuring RCB had enough on the board despite losing wickets at regular intervals. Danni Wyatt-Hodge was the only other batter to provide substantial support, notching up her first fifty of the season before falling at a crucial juncture.
Opting to bat first, RCB got off to a cautious start against Chinelle Henry, who found early movement. Smriti Mandhana and Danni Wyatt-Hodge managed just two runs in the opening over.
However, Wyatt-Hodge soon found her rhythm, taking full advantage of a wayward full-toss from Grace Harris and dispatching it for six. Smriti was handed an early reprieve when she was dropped at backward point, but she failed to capitalise, falling to Deepti Sharma for six, attempting a cut shot only to drag the ball onto her stumps.
Perry then joined Wyatt-Hodge and quickly got into her groove, striking back-to-back boundaries off Sophie Ecclestone in the power-play. Wyatt-Hodge, too, found the fence, cutting Henry past a short third before guiding RCB to 42/1 at the six-over mark. Perry continued to assert her dominance, launching a six over long-on off Saima Thakor’s over, while Kranti Goud kept things tight at the other end.
With the field spreading out after the power-play, the duo rotated the strike effectively. Perry was fortunate to survive a close call when an edge off Kranti Goud just eluded the diving wicketkeeper. However, she soon found her scoring touch, crafting a deft four over point off Tahlia McGrath, while Wyatt-Hodge remained steady at the other end.
The scoring rate picked up significantly in the 14th over, as Perry and Wyatt-Hodge took Deepti Sharma apart, amassing 14 runs, including a towering six from Wyatt-Hodge and a fine leg glance for four from Perry. The moment of the innings came when Perry reached her half-century with a single off Kranti Goud, equaling Meg Lanning’s record for the most fifty-plus scores in WPL history. Wyatt-Hodge followed suit, accelerating with three consecutive boundaries, including a powerful drive over covers.
However, just as RCB looked set to launch into a late-innings assault, McGrath struck a crucial blow breaking 94 runs stand off 66 deliveries, dismissing Wyatt-Hodge for 57 off 41 balls.
The English batter miscued a cut shot, and Sehrawat completed a sharp catch to bring to an end a well-constructed innings. But there was no respite for UP Warriorz, as Richa Ghosh announced her arrival with a first-ball boundary, keeping the momentum in RCB’s favour.
Ghosh looked to go big but fell victim to Chinelle Henry’s short-ball trap, mistiming her shot straight back to the bowler. Kanika Ahuja’s brief stay ended in an unfortunate fashion, as she failed to connect with a reverse sweep off Deepti Sharma and was run out by a sharp piece of glovework from Uma Chetry.
With wickets tumbling at the other end, Perry took it upon herself to accelerate, hammering a four and a six off Tahlia McGrath in quick succession. Georgia Wareham joined the charge with a confident boundary over mid-off but was soon run out after a mix-up, courtesy of Saima Thakor’s quick reflexes in the field.
Despite the setbacks, Perry remained unfazed, taking on the Warriorz bowlers with calculated aggression. She raced into the 80s with back-to-back boundaries, threatening to become the first centurion of WPL 2025. Kim Garth provided brief support, but Sophie Ecclestone’s disciplined bowling in the final over stifled Perry’s chances of reaching three figures.
A last-ball run-out of Garth concluded the innings, with Perry remaining unbeaten on a masterful 90 off 56 balls. Her innings proved to be the backbone of RCB’s competitive total of 180.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 180/6 in 20 overs (Elyse Perry 90 not out, Danielle Wyatt-Hodge 57; Chinelle Henry 1-34, Tahlia McGrath 1-30) against UP Warriorz
–IANS
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