The Royal Challengers Bangalore are off to a good start with a nervy 2-run victory over UP Warriorz in their first game with the help of a great performance by Sophie Molineux. They followed that up with another comprehensive 8-wicket victory against the Gujarat Giants to make it two out of two victories, climbing to the top of the points table in the 2nd edition of the WPL.
The RCB skipper Smriti Mandhana won the toss and opted to field first. The Gujarat Giants led by skipper Beth Mooney failed to post a competitive total on the board (107/7) courtesy of yet another failure for the Giants batting unit. Dayalan Hemalatha (31 off 25 balls), and Harleen Deol (22 off 31 balls) were the top performers with the bat for the Gujarat Giants.
“In the first game, it was about her trying to be a bit more aggressive, taking on that aggressive role with the bat. We know that she can do and she has done in the past obviously in domestic circles here in India. Tonight obviously with RCB fielding 4 spinners, we thought that she might be able to use her skillset a little bit better through the middle order given that they had such heavy spin options through that period and Harleen is pretty good against pace, so that was a rationale there.” Skipper Beth Mooney clarifies the reason for a change in the opening combination.
Chasing a target of 108, Royal Challengers chased down the total with 8 wickets and more than seven overs to spare. Skipper Smriti Mandhana found her mojo back with a confident 43 runs scoring at an impressive strike rate of 159.25. Sabbhineni Meghana (36 off 28 balls) and Ellyse Perry (23 off 14 balls) were the top performers with the bat for RCB in the run chase.
The 26-year-old left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux from Australia was the top performer with the ball for RCB returning with match figures (4-0-25-3), playing in crucial role in restricting the Gujarat Giants to a below-par total. “Definitely not taking anything for granted, especially after being injured for two years. Very grateful for being picked up by RCB without even playing a game for two years. It’s a great group and I’m really enjoying the experience.” Sophie Molineux speaks about being grateful to be picked by RCB and be a part of the WPL and working hard to get better after being out of action for a couple of years due to an injury.
Renuka Singh was awarded the Player of the Match for her match-defining spell in the powerplay, as she accounted for two massive wickets of skipper Beth Mooney and Phoebe Litchfield to push the Gujarat Giants on the back-foot in the powerplay.