WPL: Ecclestone leads Warriorz to Super Over victory

BENGALURU: Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Women's Premier League face-off against UP Warriorz on Monday was full of twists, turns and high-voltage drama, not meant for the faint-hearted.
Set a target of 181 by the home side, Warriorz stumbled in the death overs, but Sophie Ecclestone (33; 19b; 1x4; 4x6) took her team to the cusp of victory before falling a few feet short of the winning run, which sent the contest into the first-ever Super Over of the competition.
Ecclestone was not done yet. What she couldn't finish with the bat, she did with the ball. First, RCB pacer Kim Garth, who conceded 40 runs in her four-over spell, conceded eight runs in the Super Over. In search of nine for victory, the RCB pair of Richa Ghosh and Smriti Mandhana faltered ending with four runs.
Earlier, there were no Monday blues at the M Chinnaswamy stadium as spectators packed the venue. They were in for a treat with an Ellyse Perry special. The RCB top-order batter struck a stroke filled 56-ball unbeaten 90 (9x4; 3x6) and shared a 94-run second-wicket stand with Danni Wyatt-Hodge (57; 41; 4x4; 3x6) as the duo steered the defending champions to 180/6.
Opting to bowl, Warriorz pacer Chinelle Henry's (1/34) bowled a tight opening over, and conceded just two runs. RCB openers-Smriti Mandhana (6) and Wyatt-who was grassed on eight-looked to up the tempo, but skipper Smriti fell to her nemesis Deepti Sharma (1/42). The off-spinner has dismissed her Indian teammate on all three occasions they've faced off in the competition.
But UP's joy was short-lived as the hosts regrouped quickly. Perry and Wyatt-Hodge took the Warriorz bowlers to the cleaners as the boundaries flowed. Perry and Wyatt-Hodge stitched together RCB's highest partnership of the evening, with their 94 coming off 66. The middle overs saw the erring Warriorz's bowlers leaking runs in plenty. While Perry struck her third half-century of the season, Hodge hammered her first.
In reply, Warriorz opener Kiran Navgire (24) ensured a fiery start, getting off the mark with consecutive boundaries off Renuka Singh and then going after Garth. Renuka, though, bounced back to dismiss Warriorz's openers-Navgire and Vrinda Dinesh. They lost a flurry of wickets thereafter as Sneh Rana (3/27)-making her RCB debut-claimed a three-wick et haul. Perry, bowling for the first time this season, too picked up a wicket.
Brief Scores: Royal Challengers Bengaluru 180/6 (Ellyse Perry 90*, Danni Wyatt-Hodge 57) lost to UP Warriorz 180 (Sophie Ecclestone 33, Shweta Sehrawat 31; Sneh Rana 3/27) in Super Over