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Following her side''s maiden Women''s Premier League (WPL) title, Royal Challengers Bangalore wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh said she was nervous during the final overs of the chase and all-rounder Ellyse Perry calmed her down and told her to play her natural shots as just four runs were needed for the victory.
An all-round Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) led by yet another solid knock by Ellyse Perry and brilliant bowling spells from spinners Shreyanka Patil and Sophie Molineux captured their first-ever Women''s Premier League (WPL) title after defeating Delhi Capitals by eight wickets in the title clash at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday. "I was a bit nervous, but Perry calmed me down and told me to go for my shots if the ball was there to be hit. It felt like a long time (between the Eliminator and the final), but we had prepared a lot and worked hard. By god''s grace, we won. We just wanted to bowl wicket-to-wicket, a couple of wickets and we knew we could chase the score down. The game does get close when the target is low, you can''t relax one bit," Ghosh said after clinching the maiden WPL title. Coming to the match, DC won the toss and elected to bat first. Openers Shafali Varma (44 in 27 balls, with two fours and three sixes) and skipper Meg Lanning (23 in 23 balls, with three fours) started really well for the team with a quickfire 64-run opening stand. However, Shreyanka Patil (4/12), Sophie Molineux (3/20) and Asha Sobhana (2/14) helped RCB bounce back just after the powerplay and removed Delhi batters one-by-one, triggering an unfathomable batting collapse. DC was all out for 113 in 18.3 overs. In the chase of 114, RCB put on a 49-run opening stand, powered by Sophie Devine (32 in 27 balls, with five fours and a six). However, RCB was tested by Delhi bowlers in middle overs and skipper Smriti Mandhana (31 in 39 balls, with three fours) departed at a crucial juncture to leave RCB at 82/2 in 15 overs. However, Ellyse Perry (35* in 37 balls, with four boundaries) and Richa Ghosh (17* in 14 balls, with two fours) finished the chase with three balls left. Minnu Mani and Shikha Pandey took a wicket each for DC. (ANI)
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