As a team, we all have to step up – Smriti Mandhana on the upcoming matches of WPL 2025

It wasn’t the best of outings last night for RCB as they were handed a heavy defeat by the Gujarat Giants. With the batters being stranded in a tough juncture, the hosts could put up very little on the board to give their bowlers a fighting chance. Smriti Mandhana, the captain of RCB, couldn’t really get the numbers rolling in her favour as she could only score 10 runs.

Talking in the post-match presentation, Smriti explained why the loss against the Giants would be the most hurtful. She also pointed out how the partnership between Raghvi Bist and Kanika Ahuja helped the Royal Challengers to put up a fight despite the unfortunate result.

Underlining the conditions in Bengaluru, Smriti said, “I don't think we batted really well in the powerplay, including myself. We tried too hard and didn't read the conditions quickly. We came in thinking about the last two matches, trying to get 170-180. The wicket was a lot different than the other games.”

Shedding light on the last three fixtures, Mandhana added, “From the time we've come to Bengaluru, the first matches I felt like we played really good cricket but ended up losing the matches. Today, this is going to really hurt us. In all the three departments, we weren't able to do a lot. But, cricket is such and you have to take it. We'll have to lift ourselves and come back stronger. We'll be looking into all three departments. I wouldn't want to put one department under the bus. As a team, we all have to step up. Last three matches, we haven't played our best cricket.”

She concluded with a word of praise for Kanika Ahuja and Raghvi Bist, stating, “They've done extremely well in domestic cricket, both have made their India debuts as well. Kanika unfortunately missed out last season. Raghvi, I feel, has a very mature head on her shoulders. Really happy that they got that partnership going and at least got us to 120. Happy for them. Hopefully we all start contributing and try and put up a better score.”