Gujarat Giants and the RCB women went head-to-head on 18 March 2023. Both teams want to get a better standing on the points table. They have been quite unlucky in the first-ever season of the Women’s Premier League. RCB recently won their first match so far. This is quite troublesome for them. At the same time, the Gujarat Giants are also in the murky waters. They want to leave the tournament with some dignity. Will they be able to win this match?
In the second match of the WPL this evening, two clubs at the bottom of the league square off. Smriti Mandhana’s Royal Challengers Bangalore face Sneh Rana’s Gujarat Giants.
Both teams come into this one on the heels of victories, but they know they can’t afford any more slip-ups if they want to make the playoffs. Let’s watch as this game unfolds. It’s an important match for both teams.
Gujarat Giants v Royal Challengers Bangalore Women – Match 16 details
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| Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai | |
| Match | Gujarat Giants v RCB Women |
| Date | Saturday, March 18, 2023 |
| Time | 7:30 PM |
| Match number | 16 |
| Umpires | Sanjay Kumar Singh |
| Vrinda Rathi | |
| TV Umpire | Pashchim Pathak |
| Reserve Umpire | Chirra Ravikanthreddy |
| Match Referee | Anupa Narvekar |
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Squads
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| GUJARAT GIANTS | ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE WOMEN |
| Sophia Dunkley | Smriti Mandhana |
| Laura Wolvaardt | Sophie Devine |
| Sabbhineni Meghana | Ellyse Perry |
| Ashleigh Gardner | Heather Knight |
| Dayalan Hemalatha | Kanika Ahuja |
| Harleen Deol | Richa Ghosh |
| Ashwani Kumari | Shreyanka Patil |
| Sushma Verma | Disha Kasat |
| Kim Garth | Sobhana Asha |
| Sneh Rana | Megan Schutt |
| Tanuja Kanwar | Preeti Bose |
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Gujarat Giants
- Sophie Dunkley appeared early, taking on Sophie Devine in the powerplay.
- The Kiwi all-rounder, on the other hand, had the final word as he annihilated the English batter.
- S Meghana was promoted, and even though she was sluggish to start, she made up for lost time once she got her eye in.
- She added a 63-point collaboration with Laura Wolvaardt, who maintained her excellent form before being stopped when attempting to attack Preeti Bose.
- Wolvaardt kept on assaulting, and Ash Gardner also began to make some vast shots.
- Wolvaardt reached fifty and appeared to be on track for a big score, but RCB’s death overs specialist Shreyanka Patil stepped in and removed both set batters off consecutive overs.
- It looked like it would bring the score down, but Harleen Deol and Hemalatha cameoed well in the last over to enable Gujarat to finish strong on 188.
Royal Challengers Bangalore Women
- Today, we watched an inning of a lifetime as Devine blasted the bowlers all over the field, sparing no one. It began with a 24-run second over against Gardner,
- They were followed by another massive over of Tanuja Kanwar. RCB scored 77 runs in the powerplay, and to top it all, their captain Mandhana regained his form.
- Smriti achieved her best score in the event before losing a lead against bowler Sneh Rana.
- On the other hand, Sophie Devine was unstoppable, slamming nine fours and eight sixes throughout her innings.
- She was supposed to break the record for the quickest women’s T20 hundred but was disqualified for 99. Nonetheless, that was the best ranking in the WPL, and some criticism existed.
- Ellyse Perry and Heather Knight finished the work that their openers had left for them. RCB eventually chased down 188
Scorecard
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| Gujarat Giants won the toss and chose to bat first. | |
| GUJARAT GIANTS 188-4 | |
| BATTING | BOWLING |
| Laura Wolvaardt 68(42) | Shreyanka Patil 2-17 |
| Ashleigh Gardner 41(26) | Preeti Bose 1-23 |
| Sabbhineni Meghana 31(32) | Sophie Devine 1-23 |
| TARGET = 189 runs | |
| ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE WOMEN 189-2 | |
| BATTING | BOWLING |
| Sophie Devine 99(36) | Kim Garth 1-32 |
| Smriti Mandhana 37(31) | Sneh Rana 1-25 |
| Heather Knight 22(15) | |
| RESULT = RCB women won by eight wickets | |
| PoM = Sophie Devine | |
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Player of the match
Do we have to see who wins the player of the match award? It was a giveaway as Sophie played phenomenal innings. Chasing 189 runs was not an easy task. But her 99 runs off of 36 balls were the force that propelled RCB. Unfortunately, she couldn’t score her ton, but that’s okay as long as the team wins.