Bengaluru, Mar 2: Royal Challengers Bangalore batters struggled to force pace against an efficient group of Mumbai Indians bowlers, settling for 131 for six in their Women's Premier League match here on Saturday.
RCB would have been in deeper trouble had Elysse Perry (44 not out, 38b, 5x4) and Georgia Wareham (27, 20b, 3x4) not added 52 runs for the sixth wicket after MI decided to bowl first.
Mumbai were without their regular skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and premier pacer Shabnim Ismail, who have been nursing injuries, for the second match on the trot, but that did not affect their intensity on the field.
The RCB top-order batters did not have the required amount of patience to weather the storm when the MI bowlers struck a fine line early on.
Skipper Smriti Mandhana (9, 11 balls) grew impatient and looked to smash pacer Issy Wong out of park. But the shot neither had power nor timing as Nat-Sciver Brunt completed a simple catch inside the circle.
It was a similar case with some other RCB top-order batters such as Richa Ghosh and S Meghana who tried to break the shackles by force, not the best approach when the bowlers are on top.
Ghosh fell to pacer Pooja Vastrakar, drilling a drive straight to Sanjana Sajeevan to mid-off, and Meghana's weak pull off Brunt ended in the hands of Keerthana Balakrishnan near backward square leg.
But Perry showed how to score runs here, selecting her balls to perfection to punish the bowlers. She pulled and cut Amelia Kerr for boundaries in successive balls when the leg-spinner erred in her length.
She found an able ally in Wareham, who complemented Perry with good rotation of strike and occasional hits to the fence.
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New Delhi (PTI): Silver prices surged by Rs 5,000 to hit a new record of Rs 2,56,000 per kilogram in the national capital on Wednesday, amid strong safe-haven demand and robust industrial buying, according to the All India Sarafa Association.
The white metal closed at Rs 2,51,000 per kilogram on Tuesday.
Traders said that escalating tensions between the US and Venezuela have boosted safe-haven appeal, while supply-side constraints and strong industrial usage further amplified the silver prices.
"Silver prices were also driven by sustained buying by the investors and China's export curbs on silver that came into effect from January 1," an expert said.
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Meanwhile, the price of gold of 99.9 per cent purity slipped marginally by Rs 100 to Rs 1,41,400 per 10 grams (inclusive of all taxes), compared to the previous close of Rs 1,41,500 per 10 grams.
"Gold prices experienced a slight decline on Wednesday as investors took profits following a recent rally," Saumil Gandhi, Senior Analyst - Commodities at HDFC Securities, said.
He added that a recovery in the US dollar also weighed on gold prices, though persistent geopolitical risks continue to support safe-haven demand for precious metals, which is limiting sharp downside.
In the international market, spot gold fell by USD 45.22, or 1.01 per cent, to USD 4,449.87 per ounce.
Spot silver was trading lower by USD 2.55, or 3.15 per cent, to USD 78.69 per ounce. During the session, the white metal climbed by USD 1.45, or 1.8 per cent, to hit an intraday high of USD 82.75 per ounce in the overseas trade.
Renisha Chainani, Head - Research at Augmont, said, "We could see some profit booking from here, but when it breaks the previous top again, the next level to watch for is USD 84 (Rs 2,66,000 per kg) and USD 88.5 (Rs 2,80,000 per kg)."
