Sayali Satghare’s remarkable three-wicket spell, along with Gautami Naik’s strong batting performance, led Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women (RCB-W) to their fifth consecutive victory in the Women’s Premier League (WPL). They triumphed over Gujarat Giants by 61 runs in the 12th match at Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara on Monday.
This decisive win not only marked RCB’s fifth victory in as many matches this season, securing their playoff spot, but also set a new record for the longest winning streak in WPL history at six matches. This surpassed the previous streaks of five consecutive wins by the Mumbai Indians in 2023 and 2023-24, as well as RCB’s own streak in 2024-25.
Earlier, Gujarat Giants’ skipper Ashleigh Gardner elected to bowl first, and RCB’s
innings began on a shaky note, similar to their previous encounter. Grace Harris was dismissed by Renuka Singh Thakur in the opening over after scoring just one run, and Georgia Voll was sent back by Kashvee Gautam in the next over, putting RCB under immediate pressure.
Captain Smriti Mandhana and Gautami Naik then worked to stabilise the innings, guiding RCB to 39 runs in the first six overs despite losing two early wickets for nine runs. Mandhana and Naik forged a crucial 60-run partnership off 45 balls before Gardner trapped Mandhana LBW for 26 runs off 23 balls in the tenth over.
Naik continued to anchor RCB’s innings and formed a magnificent 69-run partnership with Richa Ghosh for the fourth wicket. Naik reached her maiden WPL half-century off 42 balls and eventually scored 73 off 55 balls. Richa contributed 27 runs off 20 balls, while quick innings from Radha Yadav and Shreyanka Patil helped RCB post a total of 178 runs in 20 overs.
RCB’s aggressive defence started strong, with Sayali Satghare delivering a stunning two-wicket over in the second over. Satghare dismissed Beth Mooney (3 runs) and Sophie Devine (0 runs), while Lauren Bell removed Kanika Ahuja in the following over, leaving Gujarat in a precarious position at 5 for 3 after three overs.
Anushka Sharma and Gardner tried to revive the innings with a 29-run partnership off 25 balls for the fourth wicket, but Nadine de Klerk’s excellent bowling dismissed Anushka for 18 runs off 20 balls. Despite Gardner’s efforts, scoring a half-century from 39 balls and finishing with 54 runs off 43 balls, the lack of support from other batsmen hindered their progress.
Ultimately, Gujarat Giants managed only 117 runs for 8 wickets in their 20 overs. Satghare’s standout performance yielded figures of 3 for 21, complemented by Nadine de Klerk’s 2 for 21, highlighting a strong team effort.
(With Agency Inputs)
