Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) sealed a place in the knockouts with a commanding 61-run win over Gujarat Giants, riding on a measured half-century from Gautami Naik in Monday’s Women’s Premier League
(WPL) clash at the BCA Stadium in Kotambi, Vadodara. This was their fifth consecutive win in the season.
Overall, extending from the 2025 edition, this was RCB’s sixth win on the trot. Having failed to reach the playoffs last year, RCB went on a high with an 11-run win over the Mumbai Indians.
Smriti Mandhana and Co. are now the first-ever WPL side to do that in the tournament’s four-year history.
Previously, Mumbai twice (first entirely in 2023 and then again between the 2023 and 2024 seasons) and RCB once (from the end of the 2024 season to the start of 2025) had strung five wins together in the competition. The next best is the Delhi Capitals’ four consecutive triumphs in the 2024 edition.
Only Mumbai have started a WPL season with five consecutive wins, doing so in 2023. If RCB can beat a struggling Delhi Capitals side on January 24, they will become the first team in WPL to start a season with six triumphs, while also extending their overall record to seven.
How RCB brushed past Gujarat Giants
Asked to bat first, RCB were jolted early as Grace Harris and Georgia Voll fell inside the first two overs, leaving the table-toppers struggling at 9 for 2. Naik then took charge of the rebuild, first combining with captain Smriti Mandhana to steady the innings. The pair added 60 runs for the third wicket before Mandhana’s stay ended on 26, trapped in front by her opposite number, Ashleigh Gardner.
Naik found another effective partner in Richa Ghosh, and the duo shifted momentum firmly in RCB’s favour with a 69-run stand for the fourth wicket. While Naik anchored the innings, Ghosh provided impetus, clearing the ropes three times in a brisk 27. Naik’s knock of 73 off 55 balls ended in the 18th over, bowled by Gardner, before Radha Yadav’s late cameo pushed RCB to a competitive 178 for 6.
Gujarat’s chase unravelled early, with four wickets down inside seven overs. Ashleigh Gardner attempted a recovery with a 54, but lacked support as Gujarat were bowled out for 117. Sayali Satghare led the bowling effort with 3 for 21, supported by Nadine de Klerk’s 2 for 17.
