A fighting fifty (67 not out off 52) by Ellyse Perry along with Richa Ghosh's quickfire knock (37 off 16) lifted Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to 150/4 against Delhi Capitals in a Women's Premier League (WPL) 2023 match at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, here on Monday.
Perry was dropped on 29 by Shikha Pandey and she made the Delhi side pay for it.
Put into bat first, RCB made a slow start as Marizanne Kapp set a brilliant tone for DC by bowling a maiden first over against Smriti Mandhana. Kapp, who claimed a sensational fifer in the last game, continued her impressive show along with Alice Capsey from the other end and the pressure was building on RCB batters, especially Mandhana.
Though Sophie Devine was hitting boundaries from the other end, Mandhana's rotten luck this WPL season continued with Shikha Pandey dismissing her up on the very first ball of the fifth over.
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Ellyse Perry walked in to bat at No 3 for RCB and started with a boundary past cover point but RCB could score just 29 runs in the powerplay.
It was again Shikha, who brought another wicket for Delhi by removing Devine, leaving RCB to 41/2 after 9 overs. The next few overs also didn't yield many runs for RCB as Delhi Capitals were doing brilliantly both in bowling and fielding.
RCB had high hopes for experienced Heather Knight but she also couldn't do much, getting out to Tara Norris for 11 in the 13th over. After 14 overs, RCB had only managed to post 68 runs on the board and they seemed in danger yet again.
However, star Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry and India's Richa Ghosh had other ideas. Their partnership rescued RCB, who lost Smriti and Devine early and the slowness of the pitch forced Perry to play the anchor role.
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Ghosh, who came out to bat with aggressive intent, changed the momentum. Her blitz also inspired Perry to play some glorious shots in the last few overs. Delhi bowlers looked a bit clueless against Perry and Richa as the last six overs produced 82 runs for RCB, who finished with 150/4 in 20 overs.
Shikha Pandey was the most successful bowler for DC with her figures of 3-23 while Tara Norris (1-25) was the other wicket-taker.
Brief scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore 150/4 in 20 overs (Ellyse Perry 67 not out, Richa Ghosh 37; Shikha Pandey 3-23) vs Delhi Capitals.
