The third edition of WPL 2025 opened up with a bang, giving a glimpse of all that the tournament has to offer in future. The high-scoring match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Giants, saw RCB chase down the target of 202 with six wickets and 9 balls to spare, marking the highest successful run chase in the history of WPL.
Gujarat were put to bat by RCB. Opener Beth Mooney set the tone for Gujarat’s innings with her 56 off 42 balls. Further, Ashleigh Gardner capitalized on it, remaining unbeaten on 79 off just 37 balls, while WPL debutant, Deandra Dottin smashed a quickfire 25 too. Gujarat reached a mammoth total of 201 runs at the loss of five wickets and for RCB, Renuka Singh clinched two wickets.
RCB’s chase didn’t begin on a good note as they lost both their openers on just 14 runs, courtesy to Ashleigh Gardner. However, it was Ellyse Perry who brought RCB back to the game, hitting 57 off 34. But it was the explosive partnership between Richa Ghosh and Kanika Ahuja that truly turned the tide in RCB’s favour, as they added 93* runs off just 37 balls to seal a memorable win.
Highlights from the match:
Richa Ghosh – 64*(27)
Ghosh walked in to bat, when the team was 100/3 in the 11th over. Interestingly, she was dropped on zero by Simran Shaikh, a costly miss that would haunt Gujarat later. She then unleashed a batting masterclass, scoring 64 runs off 27 balls, including 7 fours and 4 sixes. She built a match winning partnership of 93* runs with Kanika Ahuja. Richa’s batting peaked during the 16th over, when she took Ashleigh Gardner to the cleaners, accumulating 22 runs in that over alone, hitting 4 fours and one six. She sealed the win for RCB in the 19th over itself with a maximum and was deservedly named the Player of the Match.
Ashleigh Gardner – 79* (37) & 2/33 (3)
Gujarat Giants skipper, Gardner played a scintillating knock of 79* off 37 balls, laced with three fours and as many as 8 sixes, equalling Sophie Devine’s record of most sixes in a single WPL Innings. She came in three down, with Gujarat at 41/2 and guided Gujarat to posting a total of 201 runs. Her innings was marked by three consecutive sixes off Prema Rawat’s bowling in the 14th over, followed by three more sixes in the 18th over. On the bowling front too, she claimed two crucial wickets, that of the openers Smriti Mandhana and Danni Wyatt-Hodge, leaving them reeling at 14/2. However, she was taken for 22 runs in the 16th over by Richa Ghosh.
Ellyse Perry – 57 (34)
As RCB lost their skipper Smriti Mandhana, Ellyse Perry walked in to bat at number three. She scored a quickfire 57 off 34 balls, studded with six fours and two sixes. She forged a crucial 86-run partnership off 55 deliveries with Raghvi Bisht, steering RCB closer to the target. She brought up her fifty in style, smashing a waist-high full toss for a six over deep backward square leg. However, her explosive innings came to an end in the 13th over, as she fell for 57, caught on the fence off a low full toss from Sayali Satghare. It wasn’t the best delivery, but it proved effective, with Perry mistiming her lofted shot straight to long-on.
Beth Mooney – 56 (42)
Beth Mooney, Gujarat’s opener scored 56 off 42 balls marked by eight fours and stitched a partnership of 35 runs with Laura Wolvaardt and 44 runs with Gardner. She shifted gears in the 9th over, smashing three consecutive fours off Georgia Wareham – first with a well-timed sweep behind square, followed by a pull to the long-leg fence, and then a crisp drive past extra cover. However, her innings came to an end in the 14th over when she mistimed a shot off Rawat, trying to swat a full delivery past mid-wicket but finding Smriti Mandhana perfectly positioned.
Loves all things female cricket
