WPL: Smriti, Renuka blow away Gujarat for their 2nd win

Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Giants went head-to-head in the fifth match of the ongoing Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024 on Tuesday, February 27, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The Bangalore-based franchise won the match comprehensively by eight wickets, with 45 balls to spare.

Smriti Mandhana won the toss and opted to field first. Renuka Singh and Sophie Devine bowled well and kept things tight inside the powerplay. Only 29 runs came off the first six overs with the loss of the wicket of Beth Mooney. Wickets kept on tumbling as the Gujarat batters struggled to inject any kind of momentum into the innings.

Harleen Deol faced 31 balls but managed to score just 22 runs before getting run out. Dayalan Hemalatha was the only batter who batted with some flow in the Gujarat innings and her unbeaten knock of 31 off 25 balls helped her team get to three figures. Gujarat eventually finished on 107/7 in their 20 overs.

Chasing the paltry score, Bangalore got off to a brisk start thanks to their talismanic captain. Smriti scored 43 off just 27 balls after her fellow opening partner, Devine, was dismissed cheaply. After Smriti departed, Sabbhineni Meghana and Ellyse Perry added 38 runs off 23 balls to take their team to victory in just 12.3 overs.

Top Performers of the Match

Smriti Mandhana (43 off 27 balls)

The left-handed batter took the attack to the Gujarat bowlers from the get-go. Her blitzkrieg helped Bangalore amass 47 runs in the powerplay and knocked the stuffing out of the bowling department of the opposition. During her 43-run knock of 27 balls, Smriti hit eight fours and a solitary six.

Renuka Singh (2/14, 4 overs)

Sophie Molineux picked up three wickets but Renuka Singh’s accurate bowling in the powerplay set things up nicely for the Royal Challengers. The Indian pacer bowled four overs in a row with the new ball and finished with excellent figures of 2/14. Her consistency in line and length was commendable as she rarely gave any loose ball for the Gujarat batters to pounce on.

What’s next?

Royal Challengers Bangalore will take on Delhi Capitals in their next game on Thursday, February 29, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Meanwhile, Gujarat Giants will collide with UP Warriorz on Friday, March 1, at the same venue.