Image Credit- BCCI
On the first night of the WPL 2024, five balls were
required, and on the second, it remained the same. In front of a raucous home
crowd at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Royal Challengers Bangalore successfully
launched their campaign as the Delhi Capitals were unable to stop them.
Once more, an unsung heralded Indian player stole the show: Sobhana Asha’s
five-wicket haul helped RCB defend a score for the first time, derailing UP
Warriorz’s 158-run chase. Despite four efforts in the first season, they had
never succeeded in doing so.
When Mandhana struck a six and a four off consecutive
balls in the second over after the RCB was sent in, the volume skyrocketed.
However, Sophie Devine was quickly dismissed for 1 by Grace Harris, who started
the bowling.
S Meghana took over after that. From the moment she walked in, it was obvious
that she intended to take the aerial path with the pitch up. In the fifth over,
she hit Harris three times for four runs when she figured out her timing. She
was also lucky because, with Meghana on sixteen, Sehrawat attempted a diving
grab at deep midwicket but failed, and in the seventh over, with the batter on
twenty-two, McGrath hit a brilliant blow.
The Royals could not stop Richa Ghosh, even though
they lost their third wicket in the ninth over. Her initial fours were more
touch than power as she controlled her aggressiveness and concentrated on
spinning the attack. She gradually reached a run-a-ball 16 before being
assisted to loosen up by WPL rookie Saima Thakor’s second over.
In the fourteenth over, Ghosh hammered the seamer for four fours, sending the
ball to the following locations on the ground: square leg, long-on, deep
midwicket, over mid-off, and backward point. She reached a half-century in 31
balls with five fours in two overs bowled by McGrath a little while later.
Sehrawat is returning after a fruitful domestic season
in which she struck at 122.45 to lead Delhi in runs scored in the Senior
Women’s T20 Trophy. When she joined Harris in the middle of the ninth over,
Warriorz were 49 for 3. Harris maintained the scoreboard’s ticking while
Sehrawat took her time.
In the tenth over, Harris struck legspinner Georgia Wareham for two consecutive
fours before hitting Asha for a six the following over. She was able to
consistently locate the border prior to Ellyse Perry being attacked by
Sehrawat. She slapped one ball through cover-point and then despatched a ball
that was back of a length over deep midwicket a few of balls later. After that,
Harris ended the fifteenth over by hitting Molineux into the deep-midwicket
stands. Due to the entire scenario, Warriorz scored 30 in just two overs.
Asha means “hope” in Arabic. She twice
altered the course of events and was a symbol of enthusiasm and hope in
Bengaluru. Following Alyssa Healy’s dismissal by Sophie Molineux with a peach,
Vrinda Dinesh and Tahlia McGrath scored 38 runs off of 41 balls. Asha had
Vrinda stumped for 18 off 28 when the two attempted to break loose. She castled
McGrath after a few balls as he attempted to sweep a ball that was too full.
The chase was restarted by Harris and Shweta Sehrawat, who added 77 in just 46
balls. When Smriti Mandhana needed 32 runs in four overs, she went back to
Asha. She completed her five-for, sending the opposition camp into disarray,
with a triple-wicket over that saw the dismissal of Sehrawat, Harris, and Kiran
Navgire.