Hello and welcome to Scroll’s coverage of the 2024 Women’s Premier League Eliminator match between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
The defending champions have a momentous task on hand, considering what their opponents inflicted upon them the last time they met.
On Tuesday, fans at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi were treated to the Ellyse Perry show – the Australian all-rounder picked up figures of 6/15 in the seven-wicket win that propelled RCB into the play-offs. Although the defeat didn’t dent Mumbai’s hopes for qualifying, seeing as their win over Gujarat Giants ensured a spot in the knock-outs, it was sure to have rattled a few feathers in the Mumbai camp.
This was also the Bangalore’s team first win against Mumbai in four matches, having lost the reverse fixture 10 days prior.
The loss on March 12 saw uncharacteristic mistakes in fielding from the Mumbai Indians, while their middle order crumbled in the face of Perry extracting the perfect swing from the pitch.
Although Shabnim Ismail also bowled in a similar manner, the Bangalore batters in Perry (again) and Ghosh had the benefit of chasing a below-par total.
While Mumbai will want a shot at defending their title, Bangalore will be hoping for a repeat of Tuesday night when they walk out on the field tonight.