Ellyse Perry marks the best bowling figures in WPL history

The crowd at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi was full on buzzing as the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) faced off against the Mumbai Indians (MI) on Tuesday in match number 19 of the 2024 edition of the tournament. RCB fans, known for their passion, came out in force!

And they had plenty to cheer about! Ellyse Perry, a superstar of women’s cricket, showed why she’s so admired. In a crucial match where RCB needed a win to reach the playoffs, Perry took the game by storm with the best bowling performance in Women’s Premier League (WPL) history.

The Australian all-rounder was on fire, grabbing six wickets in the first innings against Mumbai! This came at a critical time for RCB, who were struggling to get wickets early on.

After winning the toss and choosing to field first, RCB couldn’t get a breakthrough in the initial overs. But once the first wicket fell, of Hayley Matthews by Sophie Devine, things changed quickly. Perry, a fast bowler, took two wickets in her second over.

She bowled close to the stumps, aiming to get the ball to swing and bounce off the pitch. This tactic worked wonders, as she dismissed two key batters. One of Perry’s victims was the Mumbai captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, who was dismissed for a golden duck. Several other middle-order batters from Mumbai also fell cheaply.

Perry finished her spell with an incredible 6 wickets for just 15 runs in 4 overs. This bowling act completely changed the game, causing a massive collapse in Mumbai’s batting. While her first wicket was S Sajana, the crowd went wild when she took a diving catch to send the dangerous batter Hayley Mathews back to the pavilion.

With each wicket, Mumbai’s score kept dropping. Even though Amelia Kerr almost survived a hat-trick attempt by Perry, she was trapped in front by the Australian bowler in the next over.

Perry then dismissed two more batters, Amanjot Kaur and Pooja Vastrakar, before taking a brilliant catch of Nat Sciver-Brunt to end the innings. Her bowling figures of 6-15 are now the best ever in the WPL, surpassing the previous record of 5-15 set by Marizanne Kapp in 2023.

This amazing performance by Perry not only helped RCB win the match but also cemented her place as a legend of the Women’s Premier League.

Women’s Premier League: Best bowling figures in an innings

Player	Overs	Runs	Wkts	Econ	Team	Opposition
EA Perry	04	15	06	3.75	RCB Women	v MI Women
M Kapp	04	15	05	3.75	DC Women	v GG Women
A Sobhana	04	22	05	5.50	RCB Women	vv UPW Women
TG Norris	04	29	05	7.25	DC Women	v RCB Women
KJ Garth	04	36	05	9.00	GG Women	v UPW Women