MI is denied straight access to the final by Spirited RCB.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the reigning champions, ended the WPL 2025 in a spectacular fashion by denying the Mumbai Indians a direct route to the final, even though they were not in the running for a spot in the last three. In the season’s last league match, RCB defeated MI by 11 runs thanks to a combined effort with the bat and the ball, sending the Delhi Capitals to the championship game for the third consecutive year. MI will now play the Gujarat Giants in the Eliminator as a result.

MI didn’t start the PowerPlay the way they wanted to for a team that needed to chase down 200 to advance to the final. MI’s PowerPlay score was disappointing despite Hayley Matthews whipping one for a boundary first up and Ellyse Perry hitting three fours off an over. Sneh Rana dismissed both openers, leaving MI at 45 for 2 after the six over mark. The seasoned duo of Nat Sciver-Brunt and captain Harmanpreet Kaur now had the responsibility of reviving the chase after those two wickets.

Harmanpreet edged a leg cutter behind to fall for an 18-ball 20, but Kim Garth ended any such hopes for the home team. To keep her team’s dwindling hopes alive, Nat Sciver-Brunt, the only MI batter to put up a fight, kept picking up boundaries at regular intervals. Sciver-Brunt took on Rana and Perry after hitting Heather Graham for a four and a six off consecutive deliveries. This helped her get another fifty this season, making her the first player in WPL history to reach 400. She was forced to constantly try to find the ropes because she had too much to do otherwise, and in the process, she top-edged a delivery and left her side in need of 71 from 31.

As MI started to decline quickly, Rana’s night improved as she ended her spell by taking out Yastika Bhatia. By this point, the chase seemed to be coming to an end as RCB kept taking wickets toward the end. Even though MI needed 28 to win, Sajeevan Sajana gave the bowling side a slight scare in the final over, with the tail also chipping in with boundaries. Perry bowled two wides and gave up two sixes during her turbulent night with the ball, which reduced the equation to 12 off 3. However, the Australian all-rounder bounced back, making sure MI didn’t get any more runs from the last three deliveries.

Richa Ghosh’s crucial cameo dashed any expectations the bowling team might have had of holding RCB to a par total from that point on. Perry started contributing with boundaries and made up for lost time as well. But the Georgia Wareham performance in the end, when RCB smashed 39 runs from the last 12 deliveries, was what really took MI off guard. To MI’s annoyance, Perry was essentially a spectator at the other end as Wareham hammered five fours and a six in an incredible undefeated 31 off only 10 deliveries. It’s safe to assume that Wareham ultimately made the difference, considering the final margin of victory.