Ellyse Perry delivered a stellar performance, smashing a breathtaking 90 not out from 56 balls, but Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) suffered a heartbreaking defeat against UP Warriorz in the Women's Premier League (WPL) through a Super Over.
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02-25, 2025RCB posted 6-180, but UP Warriorz matched the score, getting bowled out for 180 on the final ball after Sophie Ecclestone smashed 17 in the last over. This forced a Super Over, which seemed destined to go the home side's way when Australia's Kim Garth conceded only eight runs.
However, RCB decided against sending Perry out to bat, despite her excellent form and having hit 81 on Friday. She could only watch from the sidelines as England spinner Ecclestone restricted RCB to four runs, securing an incredible victory for the UP side.
"As a team, we really have to say sorry to [Perry]. It was amazing to watch her bat. How could we not win that game for her," RCB captain Smriti Maharana said. Well supported by England's Danni Wyatt-Hodge (57 off 41), Perry looked like she might become the WPL's first centurion, taking 16 off the penultimate over. But in a sign of things to come, she and Garth could only manage six runs off the final over, bowled by Ecclestone, and she had to settle for equalling the fourth-highest score, Tahlia McGrath's 90* in 2023.
Perry struck nine fours and three sixes, scoring all around the ground, and has now produced two of the top 10 WPL scores in four days. The Warriorz started their chase quickly, racing to 1-48 off 26 balls, but then began to lose wickets. Perry bowled for the first time in the competition, as she manages a hip niggle, taking 1-10 from two tight overs. Garth and Georgia Wareham were more expensive, their four overs costing 40, but Garth did pick up two wickets, including Grace Harris for eight.
Harris took a hat-trick in her last outing but had a less satisfying day this time around, bowling one over that went for 11. She started with a full toss that Wyatt-Hodge lofted for six. She then induced a false cut, but the England batter, then on 10, was badly dropped at point. Fellow Australian McGrath had a similarly mixed day for the Warriorz. She took 1-30 from three overs and was out for a four-ball duck. However, unlike the unfortunate Perry, it ended in victory despite her performance.
