169/2 (18.2)
CR : 9.22
166/10 (20.0)
CR : 8.30
RCB W won by 8 wickets 🏆
Player of the Match
Smriti Mandhana
96(61)
Batters involved in most 100+ Partnerships in WPL
4 - Nat Sciver-Brunt (Mumbai Indians)
4 - Shafali Verma (Delhi Capitals)
4 - Meg Lanning (Delhi Capitals/UP Warriorz)
4 - Smriti Mandhana (Royal Challengers Bengaluru)*
3 - Beth Mooney (Gujarat Giants)
3 - Hayley Matthews (Mumbai Indians)
4 - Nat Sciver-Brunt (Mumbai Indians)
4 - Shafali Verma (Delhi Capitals)
4 - Meg Lanning (Delhi Capitals/UP Warriorz)
4 - Smriti Mandhana (Royal Challengers Bengaluru)*
3 - Beth Mooney (Gujarat Giants)
3 - Hayley Matthews (Mumbai Indians)
11:10 PM IST and Local Time: Anjum Chopra is ready with the post-match ceremony...
Super Striker of the Match: Lucy Hamilton (36 off 19 at a strike rate of 189.47)
Active Catch of the Match: Lucy Hamilton (for taking Mandhana's catch)
High IQ of the Match: Smriti Mandhana
Most Sixes of the Match: Shafali Verma (4)
Most Dot Balls of the Match: Lauren Bell (14)
Player of the Match: Smriti Mandhana
Smriti Mandhana (POTM & RCB Women Captain): "[On the consistency of the RCB team] It was amazing to see the way everyone bowled, especially in the first three overs to reduce them to four down. Sayali came in on debut and picked up two crucial wickets, and then Bell did what she does best. Shafali was looking really good and going strong, but we changed our plans, tried to limit her to singles, and I felt everyone executed those plans really well.
[On bowling depth and implementation] We definitely had a plan in place. She’s a very experienced player and has played a lot of cricket, so all the planning and preparation came together. During the strategic timeout, we knew that Shafali was the only batter who could really hurt us and take the total beyond 180. It was clear that we needed to bowl our best deliveries to her and try to keep her off strike. That’s easier said than done, but everyone executed it really well. Prema bowled well, Radha bowled well, and whoever came on during that phase delivered excellent spells today.
[How would you rate your batting today?] Yeah, it felt good chasing. Chasing a target is often easier than setting one because, as a batter, you don’t always know what a good total is on wickets like these. When they got around 160 and we lost Grace, I was clear about which bowlers I needed to take on and which ones to respect. It’s about getting those small decisions right—sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t in T20 cricket. I’m just happy that it worked for us today and we managed to win the match.
[Is it the best XI or RCB team on the park now?] I mean, we definitely won the first three matches, but we felt we had an even better combination. Voll coming in at number three fits in really well. Unfortunately, Aru (Arundhati Reddy), was unwell today, so that change had to be made. If that swap happens, I think that would be our best XI."
[On bowling depth and implementation] We definitely had a plan in place. She’s a very experienced player and has played a lot of cricket, so all the planning and preparation came together. During the strategic timeout, we knew that Shafali was the only batter who could really hurt us and take the total beyond 180. It was clear that we needed to bowl our best deliveries to her and try to keep her off strike. That’s easier said than done, but everyone executed it really well. Prema bowled well, Radha bowled well, and whoever came on during that phase delivered excellent spells today.
[How would you rate your batting today?] Yeah, it felt good chasing. Chasing a target is often easier than setting one because, as a batter, you don’t always know what a good total is on wickets like these. When they got around 160 and we lost Grace, I was clear about which bowlers I needed to take on and which ones to respect. It’s about getting those small decisions right—sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t in T20 cricket. I’m just happy that it worked for us today and we managed to win the match.
[Is it the best XI or RCB team on the park now?] I mean, we definitely won the first three matches, but we felt we had an even better combination. Voll coming in at number three fits in really well. Unfortunately, Aru (Arundhati Reddy), was unwell today, so that change had to be made. If that swap happens, I think that would be our best XI."
That is the end of Navi Mumbai-led of this WPL. Royal Challengers Bengaluru remain firmly on the top of the points table as they continue to dominate with a four-match unbeaten streak. There is no stopping the Smriti Mandhana-led side as of now. The only thing that broke everyone's hearts was Mandhana getting out on 96 as the wait for the WPL's maiden ton continues. Delhi Capitals remain at the bottom under the new leadership of Jemimah Rodrigues.
We have a day off tomorrow before RCB and GG take on each other on Monday in Vadodara.
For now, this is me, AkshayaKrishna Polya, signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Ajay Pal Singh, scorers Paras Yadav and Manish Bishnoi, and statistician Aman. We will meet again. Until then, it is cheers!
We have a day off tomorrow before RCB and GG take on each other on Monday in Vadodara.
For now, this is me, AkshayaKrishna Polya, signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Ajay Pal Singh, scorers Paras Yadav and Manish Bishnoi, and statistician Aman. We will meet again. Until then, it is cheers!