Amelia Kerr's 3/22 help MI keep RCB to 125/9 in WPL
Navi Mumbai, Mar 21: Amelia Kerr snapped three wickets as Mumbai Indians produced a disciplined effort to restrict Royal Challengers Bangalore to 125 for nine in their final league match of the inaugural Women's Premier League here on Tuesday.
Kerr (3/22) validated MI captain Harmanpreet Kaur's decision to bowl first, taking full advantage of a spin-friendly track here at the DY Patil Stadium, while Hayley Matthews (4-0-18-0) and Saika Ishaque (1/30) were also on the money.
Both Kerr and Ishaque joined Sophie Ecclestone of the UP Warriorz for most wickets (13) in WPL.
RCB had fallen behind in the race to make it to the final three teams who would play the two-game knockout round to decide the winner of WPL, by losing five matches on the trot.
On the other hand, Mumbai Indians have also been under the pump coming off two consecutive defeats and would need to do better with the bat in the chase against RCB to regain lost form.
The task of chasing a moderate 126 would still be tricky given the pitch remained challenging for batting and aided spinners, with Mumbai Indians' bowlers doing a fine job.
Mumbai made an early breakthrough when a horrible mixup between Sophie Devine (0) and Smriti Mandhana culminated in the former being run out on the fourth ball of the contest.
Mandhana continued to drive herself back into form, hitting a few exciting shots to make 24 from 25 balls with three fours and a six, before her innings was ended by Kerr off a mistimed stroke.
Ellyse Perry (29 from 28 balls, 3x4s) took her time to settle down and opened up only in the 10th over, hitting Saika Ishaque for consecutive fours. At the halfway stage, RCB were 56 for 2.
Heather Knight perished for 12 in the 11th over with Kerr bagging her second wicket, getting the English batter caught at long-on. Knight added 26 runs with Perry during her brief stay in the middle.
The slide continued for RCB with Kerr getting Kanika Ahuja (12) stumped by Yastika Bhatia and soon Nat Sciver-Brunt returned for her final over to claim a couple of wickets to finish at 4-0-24-2, dismissing Perry and Shreyanka Patil (4) to mark yet another poor show for RCB with the bat.
Richa Ghosh cracked three fours and two sixes to make 29 off 13 balls, with her innings helping RCB move past the 100-run mark.
Isabelle Wong (2/26) claimed two late wickets.
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Suvendu Adhikari says Bangladesh should be taught a “lesson like Israel taught Gaza”
Kolkata: Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly Suvendu Adhikari has sparked controversy after stating that Bangladesh should be taught a “lesson like Israel has taught Gaza.”
Adhikari made the remark while speaking to reporters outside the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata on Friday, December 26. “These people must be taught a lesson, just like Israel taught Gaza. Our 100 crore Hindus and the government working in the interest of Hindus must teach them a lesson just as we taught Pakistan a lesson in Operation Sindoor,” he said.
The statement came amid protests being held outside the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission since December 22, following the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das, a 27-year-old garment factory worker in Bangladesh. Das was killed on December 18 in the Mymensingh district, where his body was allegedly hung from a tree and set on fire in public view.
Adhikari was part of a five-member delegation that met senior officials of the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission on Friday. Speaking after the meeting, he claimed that the diplomats had “no answer to most of his questions” related to the killing and the situation of minorities in Bangladesh.
Reacting to his comments, the All India Trinamool Congress accused the BJP of promoting hate and intolerance. In a post on X, the party described Adhikari’s remarks as hate speech and alleged that they amounted to a call for violence, while also questioning the absence of legal action against him.
Adhikari’s statement has added to political tensions in West Bengal and raised concerns over inflammatory rhetoric linked to sensitive international and communal issues.
The @BJP4India’s Bengal ‘face’ wants a Gaza like operation against Bangladesh. Dog whistles that the @narendramodi government is for ‘Hindus’ only. Do you concur with this @narendramodi @DrSJaishankar ? Dirty politics of Divide and Rule won’t work in Bengal, @SuvenduWB pic.twitter.com/vLWm9b3AXb
— Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) December 27, 2025
