Royal Challengers Bangalore got off to a winning start as they beat UP Warriorz by two runs in a last-over thriller in Match 2 at a jam-packed M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Crucial fifties from Sabbhineni Meghana (53) and Richa Ghosh (62) helped RCB post 157/6. Asha Shobana then bowled a sensational spell of 5/22, and Sophie Molineux held her nerve to defend 11 off the last over to win it for the home side.
Defending 158, Royal Challengers Bangalore got off to a good start as Sophie Molineux cleaned up UPW captain Alyssa Healy with a beauty in just the second over.
The home team bowled with accuracy and discipline to keep things tight and give away just 36 runs in the Powerplay. The pressure got to the UPW batters as Vrinda Dinesh and Tahlia McGrath were dismissed by Asha Shobana in the same over, trying to up the ante. RCB restricted UPW to 63/3 at the halfway stage.
Grace Harris and Shweta Serhawat steadied the ship at first and then pressed the accelerator button to bring up the fifty-run stand to bring the equation down to 42 off 30. Harris was the primary aggressor as the pair scored 53 runs in the 10 to 15 over phase.
In dire need of a wicket, Mandhana brought back Asha, and she answered her captain's call to turn the match around with the wickets of Sehrawat (31 off 25), Harris (38 off 23) and Kiran Navgire (1 off 3) in the 17th over.
With 30 needed off 18 balls, Poonam Khemnar and Deepti Sharma released some pressure with three fours off Shreyanka Patil to get 14 off the 18th over. The match swung again in the next over as Georgia Wareham cleaned up Khemnar and gave away just five runs.
With 11 required off the last over, Molineux gave away just two runs off the first four balls. But Deepti Sharma then smashed a four off the penultimate ball to bring the equation down to 5 off one. Molineux held her nerve off the last ball and gave away just two runs, as Sharma mistimed her swipe to deep mid-wicket, to win it for RCB.
Earlier, UP Warriorz won the toss and elected to field. Grace Harris struck early as she had Sophie Devine trapped LBW in her second over, after bowling a tight first over of the match and conceding just three runs.
Smriti Mandhana, who got into the groove with a sublime six straight down the ground and a four next ball in the second over from Tahlia McGrath, got a slice of luck when she was dropped on 12 by Rajeshwari Gayakwad at square leg off Harris in the fifth over. The RCB captain's luck didn't last long, though, as she top-edged a pull to short fine leg in the sixth over off McGrath who bounced back in style. In between, Sabbhineni Meghana cracked three consecutive fours off Harris as RCB reached 40/2 at the end of the Powerplay.
The UPW spinners then took control of things, kept things tight and built pressure as Sophie Ecclestone got the big wicket of Ellyse Perry and RCB could manage just 24 runs off the next four overs as they reached 64/3 at the halfway stage.
Meghana then broke the shackles with a massive six over extra cover off Gayakwad as she brought up her fifty off 40 balls on debut. Richa Ghosh too upped the ante with some sensational strokeplay, hitting four fours off Saima Thakor in the 14th over.
Ghosh continued to attack, but captain Alyssa Healy brought back Gayakwad in the 17th over, and the move worked as she removed Meghana (53 off 44) and Georgia Wareham (0) in the same over to jolt RCB.
Ghosh brought up her fifty off just 31 balls as she hit three consecutive fours off McGrath to breathe momentum again. However, Deepti Sharma came back to dismiss Ghosh (62 off 37) in the penultimate over and gave away just four runs. Shreyanka Patil and Sophie Molineux provided a crucial late surge, hitting 12 off the last over from Ecclestone to take RCB to 157/6.