Ellyse Perry – the face of defiance in the Red and Gold threads

It wasn’t the finest of hours for the Royal Challengers Bangalore Women as they slumped down to their second straight defeat in the ongoing WPL 2024 season which pushed them down to fourth spot on the points table.

A shaky start proved to be a talking point for RCB-W as they lost the cream of their batting for a very modest number on the board. However, when it felt that things would go all wrong and downtown for the Royal Challengers, that is when Ellyse Perry stepped up and put forth a robust shield of resilience.

After surviving a close call against Issy Wong earlier in the innings, Perry bided her time, waiting for some decent support at the other end. However, running short of options, she chose to take matters in her own hands. Showing the first signs of intent, she went hammer and tongs after Keerthana, whacking a half-tracker over deep square leg.

Not long after, she chose to go after Nat Sciver-Brunt, helping one on the legside past a stranded short-fine leg fielder. Amelia Kerr faced two consecutive boundaries after restraint from the hard-hitting Pez, one to the left of backward point while the other was belted over square leg.

Had it not been for Perry, things could have been far more drastic for the Royal Challengers as they lost four wickets within 42, soon to be a rubble of 71/5. With some help from Georgia Wareham who knitted together 27 off 20, Pez steered the ship for RCB to a respectable 131, giving a fighting chance to the bowlers. She stayed unbeaten for 44 from 38 balls.