In the 12th Match of Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Gujarat Giants at the Vadodara International Cricket Stadium, Kotambi. This fixture will be the first to be played away from Navi Mumbai. Mandhana’s side has established their dominance in this year’s WPL with 4 consecutive victories. The batting unit has been effective with different players stepping up at different occasions, especially with the likes of Radha Yadav providing stability. The bowling unit has also been exceptionally good with Lauren Bell and Shreyanka Patil in good form. As the Challengers gear up to take on the Giants, here are the top 3 players to look out for:
Smriti Mandhana
Smriti Mandhana, the vice-captain of the Indian cricket team has found her purple patch in recent years and has been India’s standout performer. In her T20I career, she has scored 4102 runs from 151 innings at a strike rate of 124. In her WPL career, she has scored 812 runs from 30 matches at a strike rate of 131. She scored a wonderful 96 in the match against Delhi Capitals, and the batting unit will be mightily relieved if she can play more of these throughout their campaign.
Shreyanka Patil
Shreyanka Patil, the young Indian spinner made a name for herself through her performance in franchise cricket and has been great for RCB as well. In her T20I career, she has picked up 20 wickets from 16 innings at an economy of 6. In her WPL career, she has picked up 27 wickets from 19 matches at an economy of 8. She picked up a splendid 5-fer against Delhi Capitals and they seemed to have no answer to her brilliance. Shreyanka will be looking to build on the momentum she has created, and her bowling will play a crucial role in RCB’s success.
Lauren Bell
Lauren Bell, the English pacer, has been in exceptionally good touch in recent years with her ability to swing the ball and dismantle the top-order. In her T20I career, she has picked up 50 wickets from 36 innings, at an economy of 7. Bell has already picked up 8 wickets from 4 matches at an economy of just 5. In her most recent performance against Delhi Capitals, she picked up 3 wickets. Bell’s form would be absolutely important to the Challengers in the quest of conquering the WPL title a second time.
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