Defending champions Mumbai Indians were blown away the last time they met Royal Challengers Bangalore in Delhi by the individual brilliance of Ellyse Perry, but they can course correct in the high-stake rematch on Friday in the Eliminator. The winner will the final to take on Delhi Capitals.
MI played the Eliminator last year as well and not only did they make the final but managed to lift the inaugural title beating DC. And batting coach Devika Palshikar is banking on history to repeat itself.
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“We all know cricket is a very uncertain game and things do go up and down. We are still very positive in the dressing room. There might be days like that. For tomorrow (eliminator), we are not thinking much about the last game,” Palshikar said at the pre-match media interaction.
In fact, Palshikar drew similarities from last season and added that they are looking at the defeat as good omen. UP had dismissed MI for 127 and won the match by 5 wickets last year.
“Actually, don’t you think history is repeating? We have gone through this the last year. We played UP Warriorz ahead of the eliminator and didn’t do well. But we bounced back in eliminator and won in a one-sided manner. So we are looking at it as good luck. It is possible that we repeat history tomorrow like the last year,” she added.
There have been several instances this year when MI’s batting unit has not clicked and has lacked consistency. However, Palshikar is only looking at the positives.
“I have seen consistency with the batting unit. If you keep the last match aside, we have had seven-wicket or six-wicket victories. We have not had too many ups and downs. The fact that it happened before the eliminator, we are looking at it as a very good sign.”
Palshikar highlighted Harmanpreet’s importance in the batting order and gave some context to her whirlwind 95 against Gujarat Giants.
“Every batter has a different method for preparation. Harman asks me every time before the match to help her with knocking. I remember, the day she hit 95 runs, she came to me and asked for more lofted shots. She usually knocks in a different manner, but that day it was different. I think it was her inner voice that asked her to do it differently.”
On the other hand, RCB have looked a far more settled and relaxed unit in this than previous year and the players upbeat mood was very much visible during their practice session ahead of the game. A few players also joined their content team to record videos ahead of the important clash.
While the training session looked calm, the nets never had a break as batters—from Smriti Mandhana to Kate Cross—practiced power hitting for almost three hours on Thursday afternoon.
The power hitting in the nets and the calm demeanor out of it, made RCB look to have a clear mindset to go big and go all-out against MI on Friday, but to not get carried away.
Head Coach Luke Williams only made it clearer at the pre-match press conference.
“There has also been real confidence that if we are able to play our best cricket, then we can challenge all teams in the competition – that’s been something we’ve been big on across this tournament and even leading into the tournament and so far, it’s been okay.
“We have been quite consistent with the way we’ve reviewed games, whether we won or lost. We have had similar discussions on the things we have done well, things we need to improve, style of cricket we want to play, Williams said.”
RCB are on the back of an emphatic win after they restricted the defending champions to a meagre 113. Williams explained that they thought of it as a knockout game and didn’t think about other scenarios.
“The way we treated last game against Mumbai as a knockout game, I know there could have been different NRR scenarios, but in our dressing room, it was very clear that if we win the game, we qualify. So experience of that game would help us.”
While that victory would definitely raise the spirits of the team, they are aware that MI is a formidable side and it will not come easy again.
“I don’t think, Mumbai are going to beat themselves, we have to beat them,” Williams said.
Williams was also vocal about Smriti Mandhana’s leadership skills, and how pivotal she has been to lead the side’s campaign at this year’s WPL.
“This year, Smriti has had a fabulous tournament—with the bat and with her leadership. The experience of last year’s campaign and having 12 months to plan, review, and look at the different aspects of what sort of team we wanted it to be, has been helpful.
“Smriti has been fundamental to all that planning, and to look forward to this tournament. She too has been very strong in bringing that calmness to the group, which has been very important, and the way the she has led the team on field and off the field. So, delighted with her leadership and how she’s going.”
Smriti has also shown a lot more energy throughout the tournament with some blistering innings with the bat and tactical bowling changes. Her energy was also visible in the training session as she batted for long in the nets, then lingered around in the field, went to the content creators, and then bowled a bit of off-spin towards the end, even as others started to wind up.
RCB have also had a strong fan support throughout the tournament, and it was quite evident at the MAK Sports Complex as the students started to flock in and were glued to watch them train for more than an hour.
Williams was vocal about Indian players’ performance and seemed mighty impressed with Richa’s performances throughout the tournament. Richa has the third best strike rate (152.70) and third highest number of sixes (9) amongst players to have scored more than 200 runs in the season.
“Richa has had a stellar tournament, both with both bat and gloves; she’s been calm in run-chases and such situations, she has been superb really.”
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