In the aftermath of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s dominant 61-run victory over Gujarat Giants in Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 Match 12 at Kotambi Stadium, Vadodara, on January 19, Gujarat Giants head coach Michael Klinger faced the media.
RCB’s Gautami Naik smashed her maiden WPL half-century (73 off 55, with 7 fours and 1 six) to propel her side to 178/6, clinching Player of the Match honours and securing RCB’s playoff spot with a fifth straight win. Despite a gritty 54 off 43 from skipper Ashleigh Gardner, the Giants crumbled to 117/8, marking their third consecutive defeat after a strong opening pair of victories.
Klinger was candid about the Giants’ squad depth, particularly their all-rounder-heavy lineup, which flooded bowling options but complicated on-field decisions. Ashleigh Gardner, opting to bowl first after winning the toss, leaned on Renuka Singh Thakur (4-0-23-1) and Kashvee Gautam (4-0-38-2) for an early burst, reducing RCB to 9/2. Yet, Naik’s composure shone through key stands, including 60 runs with Smriti Mandhana (26 off 23) and 69 with Richa Ghosh (27 off 20).
“Yeah, I mean, we’ve got a lot of all-rounders in our squad, so naturally you’re going to probably have more bowlers than just your normal five or your five plus your six-type bowler,” Klinger noted. “But there’s, you know, I mean, Ashleigh Gardner as an experienced captain now on the day she goes with whatever she thinks the best bowling group is it may make it a little more difficult for the captain when there’s a lot of options, but, we’ll have a look at that and look at maybe how we could balance that better next game as well.”
Turning to the chase, Klinger deemed 178 par but rued self-inflicted wounds, 21 extras, a dropped catch of Naik, and inconsistent lengths on a low-bouncing pitch. RCB’s bowlers, led by Sayali Satghare’s incisive 4-0-21-3 (now RCB’s third-highest wicket-taker with 6 at 8 average and 6.85 economy), dismantled the Giants top-order to 5/3. Lauren Bell (4-1-23-1) and Nadine de Klerk (4-0-17-2) piled on, leaving Gardner in a lone fight.
Klinger praised RCB’s superior execution, especially their fielding, as the benchmark. “Yeah, I mean 178, or whatever they end up getting, I think it may have been par, but, we probably should have kept them to 150 our execution with the ball was slightly off, our fielding hasn’t been up to scratch the last couple of games, and our batting, not getting off to great starts makes it hard when you’re chasing a score of sort of 170 plus tonight we were beaten by a better team all round, their fielding was fantastic, and it’s something I hope our players are watching, that’s the level we need to get to as well.”
He reserved special words for ex-Giants talent Satghare, who debuted for them as a concussion sub in 2024 before going unsold and re-emerging as Ellyse Perry’s replacement. “I think she’s keeping it pretty simple now, she uses a swing with the new ball, she keeps the stumps in play, we always knew, even when she was with us previous years, she’s got good death skills, she’s had a fantastic couple of games, so very happy for her.”
Klinger also tipped his hat to Naik’s maturity. “Yeah, and we’re certainly aware. I thought she batted really well today in the conditions. She probably, you know, showed some of our batters how to go about it in those conditions, and for a young player in her debut season, to score the highest score of the game, I thought was a really good effort for her, and well done.”
As the Giants regroup from this rematch loss, following RCB’s earlier 32-run win on January 16 at DY Patil, Klinger’s focus sharpens on fine-tuning those “little things that mean a lot in T20 cricket.”
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