RCB endure Super Over heartbreak against UP Warriorz

Despite a heartbreak in the end, Bengaluru stayed witness to history as RCB and UP Warriorz produced the first Super Over in the history of WPL. A battle that featured countless ebbs and flows remained dangling from the fringes till the very end and eventually a fine over from Sophie Ecclestone left RCB short of the Promised Land.

Winning the toss, UP Warriorz captain Deepti Sharma opted to bowl in Chinnaswamy. Danni Wyatt-Hodge did provide them a fine start but Smriti Mandhana’s fall at the other end for six left the hosts with a lot to desire for. In walked Ellyse Perry and the Aussie stalwart had something very special planned for the day.

Danni and Pez started fighting back and soon from a mode of vigilance, they shifted gears to rollicking belligerence. The duo posted 94 runs for the second wicket while Danni registered her first WPL half-century to make it a memorable evening for herself and the fans.

The fall of Danni for 57 opened up a window of opportunity for the Warriorz and they took the invitation with arms wide open. Richa Ghosh (8) and Kanika Ahuja (5) couldn’t add to RCB’s fireworks and the onus fell entirely upon Ellyse Perry to deliver the payload.

Pez came out firing on all cylinders and was the crux of RCB’s fightback. Perry stayed unbeaten for 90 as the hosts garnered 180/6 at the end of 20 overs. Sophie Ecclestone’s last over didn’t allow the Royal Challengers to bring in the pyrotechnics that they were hoping for.

Riding high on Kiran Nagvire’s 12-ball-24, the UP Warriorz got off to a flying start. Much to their woes, Renuka Singh’s double-whammy in the powerplay brought RCB back in the game. Renuka was joined by Sneh Rana who claimed her maiden wicket for RCB in the form of Tahlia McGrath, leaving the visitors tense at 57/3 in the powerplay.

Vrinda Dinesh (14) and Deepti Sharma (25) did keep the scorecard ticking amidst the top-order, allowing the Warriorz to take the fight to the Royal Challengers. Rana’s second strike of the evening saw the mighty Deepti Sharma return to the pavilion allowing the Royal Challengers to be back in the hunt.

The Warriorz relied more on cameos to get the job done and eventually it was Sophie Ecclestone who fired home a 19-ball-33 to drive the Warriorz to a levelling 180. She had help from the other end as Saima Thakor played a fine knock of 14 before being run-out. A brilliant enterprise from Richa Ghosh saw her running Ecclestone out as the first Super Over in the glistening antiquity of WPL ensued.

Kim Garth delivered a brilliant over, dishing out just eight runs featuring a brilliant save from Smriti Mandhana and also the mighty wicket of Chinelle Henry. With nine to win from six, RCB got off to a bit of a wobbly start and couldn’t really recover from that as Ecclestone bowled a superb over. RCB could manage only four runs in response to UPW’s eight in the Super Over, eventually conceding defeat after a sensational fight.