The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) maintained their perfect start to the 2024 Women’s Premier League (WPL) after beating the Gujarat Giants (GG) by eight wickets in front of a packed M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
Chasing 108 runs for victory, RCB’s opening pair of Smriti Mandhana and Sophie Devine got the team off to a brisk start, putting on 32 runs in the first three overs with the former particularly severe on anything that was pitched short to her.
GG got an opening as Devine fell while trying to pull a ball off Ashleigh Gardener and was caught by Meghana Singh for 6. Mandhana and Sabbhineni Meghana, who was one of the big positives for the side in the opening match, then set out to complete the chase as early as possible and got the team 47 for 1 after six overs.
Also Read: RCB vs GG Match Highlights
The two Ms’-Mandhana and Meghana- continued to drive the innings forward, using the aerial route to great effect both against both pace and spin, never allowing any GG bowler to settle into any sort of rhythm.
But one of the GG’s bright sparks from their first game-Tanuja Kanwer-dismissed Mandhana, soon after the strategic time-out caught and bowled (43 runs off 27 balls) to offer a glimmer of hope for her side.
Those hopes, however, vanished soon after as Meghana (36 runs of 28 balls) and Ellyse Perry (23 runs off 14 balls) knocked off the remaining runs with zero trouble, putting on 38 runs for the third wicket and make it two wins in two matches.
Earlier, excellent spells by Renuka Singh Thakur (2 for 14 in four overs) and Sophie Molineux (3 for 25 in four overs) restricted GG to a below-par 107 for 7 in 20 overs.
Thakur gave RCB the ideal start, removing GG skipper Beth Mooney, bowled (8 runs off 7 balls) inside the Powerplay. Harleen Deol was promoted to open with Mooney, in place of Veda Krishnamurthy, but the ploy did not work as GG could muster a mere 29 runs at the end of six overs.
The onus was on Phoebe Litchfield to up the ante, but the Australian southpaw became Thakur’s second victim of the evening, out stumped (5 runs off 12 balls) as RCB continued to apply the pressure on GG.
At the halfway mark, GG found themselves 44 for 2 and in dire need of a rebuild but were dented further when both Veda Krishnamurthy (9 runs off 15 balls) and Deol fell in the same over to leave them reeling at 50 for 4 after 11 overs.
Allrounders Dayalan Hemalatha and Ashlieigh Gardener had the onus on them to resurrect the tottering innings and with the scoreboard reading 70 for 4 after 15 overs, needed to get a move on ASAP to put a competitive score for RCB to chase.
But Georgia Wareham removed Gardener (7 runs off 12 balls) before Molineux bettered her evening further by dismissing Kathryn Bryce for 3 to leave GG’s innings in complete tatters.
The final flourish to the innings never came and GG were left to defend another paltry total, for a second match in a row.
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