The ongoing 02 edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) in match no 5 had Smriti Mandhana’s Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) go up against Beth Mooney’s Gujarat Giants.
The Royals winning the toss elected to field first, putting the Giants into bat. The Giants’ top order struggled to find stability against the bowling attack of RCB, as Beth fell early for 8 runs to a well-directed delivery from Renuka Singh.
Despite a promising start from Harleen Deol who scored 22 runs, a mix-up caught her short of her crease. Phoebe Litchfield contributed 5 runs from 12 balls before getting stumped off Renuka Singh’s bowling, and Veda Krishnamurthy fell cheaply off Molineux’s bowling, contributing 9 runs.
Ashleigh Gardner departed for 7 runs by Wareham’s bowling. However, Dayalan Hemalatha‘s resilient unbeaten knock of 31 runs helped the Giants reach a total of 107 runs against 7 wickets in their allotted 20 overs.
RCB had a challenging time claiming wickets as a team during the WPL 2023 season, accumulating only 35 wickets in total. This tally represented the lowest number of wickets taken by any team in the 2023 tournament. However, this season, the Royals have shown some impressive bowling attacks, claiming a total of 7 wickets each in both their games.
In their inaugural match, Shobana Asha, the right-arm leg spinner, made history by becoming the first Indian to take a five-wicket haul in WPL. Following that, in the next match against Gujarat Giants, both Renuka Singh and Sophie Molineux showcased exceptional bowling performances for RCB.
Best bowling figures for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the WPL
Sobhana Asha – 5/22 (4.0) v UP Warriorz, 2024
Ellyse Perry – 3/16 (4.0) v UP Warriorz, 2023
Sophie Molineux – 3/25 (4.0) v Gujarat Giants, 2024
Kanika Ahuja – 2/5 (1.0) v Mumbai Indians, 2023
Renuka Singh Thakur – 2/14 (4.0) v Gujarat Giants, 2024
Bangalore sets dot ball record in WPL history
Furthermore, the team collectively bowled 67 dot balls, setting a record for the most number of dot balls bowled in an inning in WPL. Renuka Singh delivered 17 dot balls, while Sophie Devine contributed 16 dot balls during their respective four-over spells.
In the second innings, RCB got off to a confident start with their openers Smriti Mandhana and Sophie Devine, displaying aggressive intent. Smriti, in particular, dispatched the bowlers to all parts of the ground, hitting three boundaries in the initial over. Though Devine departed for 6 runs in the 4th over by Ashleigh Gardner, the skipper continued her attack but her innings got ended by 43 runs by Tanuja Kanwar.
The pair of Sabbhineni Meghana and Ellyse Perry guided the team towards the target as the RCB comfortably chased down the target in 12.3 overs with 7 wickets and 45 balls to spare, scripting history.
Fastest Chase for RCB
The Royal chased down 108 runs in just 12.3 overs, marking their fastest run-chase in WPL history. In the previous WPL 2023 season, their best chase of 189 runs in 15.3 overs also came against Gujarat Giants. During that match, Sophie Devine registered the highest individual score in WPL history, scoring 99 runs off 36 balls.
Perry became the highest run-getter for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
The Australian all-rounder, Ellyse Perry, has amassed a total of 284 runs for her franchise. In the 2023 WPL edition, she scored 253 runs at an average of 42.17. In her last match against Gujarat Giants, she scored 23 runs off 14 balls, thus becoming the Royal’s highest run-getter in WPL history.
Sophie Molineux and Renuka Singh’s outstanding bowling performance coupled with Smriti Mandhana’s aggressive innings proved to be key factors in Royal Challengers Bangalore’s comprehensive victory. Securing consecutive wins, the Royals lead the leaderboard with 4 points and a 1.665 NRR, marking a huge contrast to their previous season’s struggle with five consecutive losses in the initial matches of the 2023 Women’s Premier League season.