Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)’s social media team didn’t waste the opportunity to hit back at their counterparts at Gujarat Giants after confirming their place in the knockouts with a dominant 61-run
victory in Monday’s Women’s Premier League (WPL) clash at the BCA Stadium in Kotambi, Vadodara.
Put in to bat, RCB suffered an early wobble as Grace Harris and Georgia Voll were dismissed inside the first two overs, reducing them to 9 for 2. Gautami Naik then assumed responsibility, restoring stability alongside captain Smriti Mandhana. The duo carefully rebuilt, adding 60 runs for the third wicket before Mandhana was adjudged leg-before for 26 against Ashleigh Gardner, who got her out for the umpteenth time.
The GG team put a photo of Gardner and Mandhana together, with what looked like an AI-generated chess queen destroying another. They captioned it: ‘Only one Queen in Qila Kotambi’.
But Naik continued to anchor the innings and found strong support from Richa Ghosh, with the pair accelerating through a 69-run stand. Naik’s innings of 73 from 55 balls ended late in the innings by Gardner. An effective cameo from Radha Yadav then ensured RCB finished at a good 178 /6.
In response, Gujarat’s chase never gained traction. Early strikes left them four down within seven overs, putting the pressure firmly on the middle order. Gardner tried to lead a recovery with a fighting 54, but with little support at the other end, Gujarat slumped to 117 for 8.
After the match, RCB posted a photo of Mandhana holding a chess queen with the caption, ‘Only one team with Q next to the name tonight!’, accompanied by a couple of mic-drop emojis.
Fans loved it and the post has gone viral.
“One of its kind for RCB (laughs),” Mandhana said about RCB’s sixth consecutive win in the WPL across the last two seasons. “Again, it’s not been really big on what’s going to happen after 10 or 15 days. It’s about doing the smaller things right, doing each day right, taking each match at a time and also having practice sessions. Everyone’s put in a lot of hard work. Credit to our support staff as well. They’ve kept everyone really positive and happy, which is again a good atmosphere to be in.”
