Two of the most promising sides in the ongoing Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, led by skipper Smriti Mandhana, were up against Gujarat Giants, led by skipper Ashleigh Gardner, in the 9th match of the season at the DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai.
Gujarat Giants skipper, Ashleigh Gardner, was elated to finally win the toss after being on the wrong side of the coin toss on the first three occasions this season. The Giants inserted RCB to bat first. Renuka Singh had a wavered start as she gave away the most number of runs (23 runs) in the history of the WPL in the opening over of the game. The RCB opening batter, Grace Harris (16 off 6 balls), unleashed the carnage, smashing four boundaries in the over.
Kashvee Gautam got the big scalp of Grace Harris (17 off 8 balls) in the 2nd over of the innings to provide the 1st breakthrough for her side. The Giants were all over RCB, reducing them to 43/4 in the final over of the powerplay. Wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh (44 off 28 balls) joined Radha Yadav at the crease and led the rescue act, taking them to a strong position for a strong finish by Nadine de Klerk (26 off 12 balls) yet again to push the total in excess of 180, ending up with 182/7 in their quota of 20 overs. Radha Yadav registered her maiden Tata WPL half-century.
Sophie Devine (4-0-31-3), Kashvee Gautam (4-0-42-2) and Georgia Wareham (4-0-35-1) were impressive with the ball for Gujarat.
Chasing a challenging total of 183, a stunning return catch from Arundhati Reddy ended Sophie Devine’s (8 off 12 balls) stay at the crease in the 4th over of the innings, breaking the 34-run opening stand. Shreyanka Patil landed another blow as she sent back a charged-up Beth Mooney (27 off 14 balls) back to the pavilion in the 5th over of the run chase. After the departure of the wicket-keeper batter Beth Mooney, the Giants kept losing wickets at regular intervals.
Gujarat lost half their side in the 11th over of the run chase. Kashvee Gautam joined Bharti Fulmali at the crease, and the duo kept the Gujarat Giants alive in the run chase with a fighting partnership for the 6th wicket, giving them a chance to make a turnaround. Despite the gritty efforts from Tanuja Kanwer (21 off 13 balls), the Gujarat Giants fell 32 runs short of the target to suffer their 2nd consecutive defeat this season after a bright start to their campaign.
Shreyanka Patil registered her maiden five-wicket haul, becoming the 3rd Indian to grab a five-wicket haul in the tournament. Lauren Bell (4-0-29-3) continued her impressive rhythm with the ball for her side. Royal Challengers Bengaluru registered a hat-trick of victories for the first time in the WPL. RCB also became the first team to register a victory in the WPL after being 4 wickets down for less than 50 runs.
Top Performers: Gujarat Giants vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Radha Yadav
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru were in deep trouble at 39/3 inside the powerplay, after Ashleigh Gardner inserted them to bat first after winning her 1st toss this season. Radha Yadav stepped in at number 5, the Smriti Mandhana-led side eventually were reduced to 43/4 in the final over of the powerplay. Radha Yadav was joined by the wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh at the crease. The duo showed a lot of maturity to settle down and take the innings deep. The pair stitched a massive 105-run partnership for the 5th wicket, which also took them closer to the 150-run mark.
Radha Yadav (66 off 47 balls) registered her maiden half-century in the WPL before being eventually dismissed by Sophie Devine in the final over of the innings. Her knock included 6 boundaries and 3 maximums. She was economical (2-0-9-0) in her spell with the ball for her side. She also picked up a wonderful catch to dismiss Georgia Wareham, displaying an all-round impact. Radha Yadav was awarded the Player of the Match.
Shreyanka Patil
The 23-year-old young off-spinner Shreyanka Patil missed the previous edition of the tournament due to an injury. She suffered multiple injury setbacks. She was returning to the 4th edition of the WPL on the back of a lengthy injury lay-off. She was rediscovering her rhythm and looked impressive in the first couple of games this season. However, she delivered one of her career-best spells against Gujarat Giants by registering her maiden five-wicket haul (3.5-0-23-5) in her spell, becoming the 3rd Indian to do so. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru, defending a target of 183, Shreyanka Patil landed some decisive blows, accounting for the scalps of Beth Mooney, Kanika Ahuja, Kashvee Gautam, Tanuja Kanwer, and Renuka Singh as the Smriti Mandhana-led side registered a commanding 32-run victory to seal a hat-trick of victories for the first time in the history of the WPL.
Bharti Fulmali
A rare failure for Gujarat Giants top order chasing a stiff total of 183 provided an opportunity for Bharti Fulamli to guide her side over the line. She has been the in-form player playing the finisher’s role to perfection on earlier occasions in this season. However, she had a different challenge this time around. The Giants were in trouble at 63/4 in the 9th over of the innings, she partnered alongside Georgia Wareham, and the pair were tasked to take the innings deep while keeping the scoreboard ticking at a decent rate.
Nadine de Klerk removed Georgia Wareham (13 off 13 balls) in the 11th over of the innings. Fulmali kept the Giants in the hunt with her clean hitting as she was joined by Kashvee Gautam. The duo stitched a fighting 56-run partnership for the 6th wicket, keeping the Giants hopes alive. Lauren Bell landed a massive blow by dismissing Bharti Fulmali (39 off 20 balls) in the 17th over of the run chase to provide the 7th breakthrough for her side. Her knock included 3 boundaries and 3 maximums, scoring at a strike rate of 195.
Kashvee Gautam
The Giants bowled first for the first time this season, after skipper Ashleigh Gardner won her 1st toss this season. Kashvee’s new ball bowling partner, Renuka Singh, conceded the most expensive (23 runs) opening over of the game in the history of the WPL. However, Kashvee Gautam led the Giants fightback by dismissing a dangerous Grace Harris (17 off 8 balls) in the 2nd over of the innings to provide the first breakthrough for the Ashleigh Gardner-led side.
Kashvee Gautam also went on to dismiss Dayalan Hemalatha (4 off 8 balls) with a surprise bumper delivery in the 4th over of the innings. Kashvee Gautam conceded just 11 runs while taking 2 wickets in her first couple of overs, which she bowled in the powerplay. However, she was taken to the cleaners by Nadine de Klerk in the final over of her spell, smashing 22 runs in the 19th over of the innings, including a couple of boundaries and a couple of maximums. However, she was unfortunate not to get the scalp of Nadine de Klerk as the Gujarat Giants skipper Ashleigh Gardner dropped her in the same over when she was on 14 (8 balls), which eventually proved costly. Kashvee Gautam ended with match figures of 4-0-42-2 in her spell.
Besides her exploits with the ball, she also made a vital contribution (18 off 14 balls) with the bat, trying her best to guide her side over the line in the run chase of 183. Her knock included a boundary and a maximum, scoring at a strike rate of 128.57. The Gujarat Giants were eventually bundled out for 150, with 7 balls to spare. As a result, falling 32 runs short of the target. The Giants registered their 2nd successive defeat this season.
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