Royal Challengers Bengaluru secured their third consecutive win in the Women’s Premier League by defeating Gujarat Giants by 32 runs on Friday. A century partnership between Radha Yadav and Richa Ghosh, followed by a stunning five-wicket haul from off-spinner Shreyanka Patil, led RCB to victory.
Yadav (66 off 47 balls) and Ghosh (44 off 28) combined for 105 runs in 11 overs for the fifth wicket, propelling RCB to a competitive total of 182 for 7 after being asked to bat first.
In response, Gujarat Giants struggled to maintain momentum, losing wickets at regular intervals and were bowled out for 150. Patil delivered an exceptional performance with figures of 5 for 23.
Gujarat Giants began their chase with Beth Mooney (27) hitting a boundary off
the first ball from Lauren Bell (3/29), while Sophie Devine followed up with two boundaries in the next over. Mooney continued her aggressive play, hitting Bell for a six over mid-off and two consecutive fours to keep GG on track.
RCB made their first breakthrough when Devine was caught and bowled by Arundhati Reddy. Patil then dealt a critical blow by trapping Mooney LBW. GG’s troubles continued when skipper Ashleigh Gardner was caught by Richa Ghosh off Bell.
Kanika Ahuja (16) showed resilience with back-to-back fours but was eventually trapped LBW by Patil. The wickets kept falling for GG, with Georgia Wareham departing next, leaving the score at 70 for 5.
Bharti Fulmali (39 off 20 balls) emerged as GG’s top-scorer, but her efforts were insufficient.
Earlier, RCB began aggressively with Grace Harris hitting four boundaries off Renuka Singh, scoring 23 runs in the first over. However, Harris was soon dismissed by right-arm pacer Kashvee Gautam with a perfect inswinger.
Gautam struck again in her next over, removing D Hemalatha, who was caught by debutant Shivani Singh. After conceding runs in the opening over, Renuka made a strong comeback by taking the vital wicket of RCB skipper Smriti Mandhana, brilliantly caught by Rajeshwari Gayakwad.
RCB continued to lose wickets with Gautami Naik departing LBW to Devine (3/31), reducing the team to 43 for 4 in the sixth over.
Australian leg-spinner Georgia Wareham was targeted by Radha Yadav, who hit a boundary through point and then a six over long-on. Ghosh and Yadav steadied the innings, with Yadav hitting another boundary and a six off Wareham in consecutive deliveries.
Yadav, the more aggressive of the two, helped RCB maintain the scoring pace while Ghosh also found the boundary frequently. Dropped by Gautam at deep mid-off in the 13th over, Ghosh capitalised on the opportunity by hitting Wareham for a six over deep mid-wicket.
Ghosh then sent a Sophie Devine delivery over the long-off boundary, and Yadav followed with a six off the final ball of the same over, reaching her fifty off 36 balls. The duo’s consistent hitting brought up a 100-run partnership for the fifth wicket in the 16th over.
Towards the end, Nadine de Klerk made a handy contribution with 26 runs off 12 balls.
(With Agency Inputs)
