Royal Challengers Bangalore lost to Gujarat Giants by 11 runs at the Brabourne Stadium in WPL.
RCB WPL 2023 News: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) suffered their third loss on the trot but skipper Smriti Mandhana is happy the way domestic players have performed against Gujarat Giants in Women’s Premier League (WPL) on Wednesday. RCB lost by 11 runs at Brabourne Stadium.
After splendid half-centuries from Sophia Dunkley (65) and Harleen Deol (67) propelled Gujarat Giants to a strong 201/7 after batting first, their bowlers did a fair job, restricting RCB to 190/6 in their 20 overs.
RCB opener and New Zealand batter Sophie Devine largely played a lone hand in their chase, hitting a well-made 66 from 45 balls with eight fours and two sixes. Towards the end, Heather Knight (30 not out off 11 balls) provided RCB a glimmer of hope, but the challenge of scoring 33 runs off the last two overs and 24 off the final over proved too much for the Bangalore side.
“In our bowling, we gave 10-15 above par. Really proud of the way the girls batted. It’s a good outfield – one end is really short. That did play on some of our bowlers’ minds. It’s about being hard on ourselves,” Mandhana said after the game.
While the overseas stars showed what they are capable off, the approach of Shreyanka Patil and Kanika Ahuja also impressed the Indian vice-captain. “The way Shreyanka bowled and batted. Also the way Kanika showed her approach.
“Those two are the positives from our domestic setup,” added Mandhana. Patil took two wickets and was in full mood with the bat in the last over hitting a monstrous six and a four before falling short.
Ahuja, who went out to bat after Devine got out, also kept RCB in hunt and gave full support to Knight before being dismissed by Ashleigh Gardner. Meanwhile, it was Gujarat Giants’ first win in the WPL.
“Amazing, incredible, superb effort from the girls, very proud of them. Defending here in CCI is never easy, it is always high scoring but we lived up to the game. I think we have good balance, we have a good combination,” said Gujarat Giants’ stand-in-captain Sneh Rana.
“This is something we were looking for since the first game, but now that we have got our first points, we are very happy.” RCB next play UP Warriorz on Friday while Gujarat Giants face Delhi Capitals on the next day.