Flashback to Vadodara – How RCB emerged as the 'Giant slayers' in the WPL 2025 opener

As the Royal Challengers Bengaluru return to action tonight as they host the Gujarat Giants, the hosts will be eyeing a win in order to bolster their chances of returning to the top of the WPL 2025 points table. Before the battle unfurls, let’s take a walk down the memory lane to recapitulate what happened almost a fortnight ago when these two teams hit the yard in Vadodara.

On winning the toss, RCB opted to bowl first and the Giants rolled out at jet speed, riding high on Beth Mooney’s fireworks up front. Ashleigh Gardner emerged as the superstar for the Giants, spearheading the batting battery with a rollicking 79 while she had support from Deandra Dottin.

Renuka Singh was the pick of the lot for RCB with the ball, registering figures of 2/25 while Kanika Ahuja supported her well with numbers of 1/19 from her three overs. The Giants accelerated in the latter half of the innings to pile up 201/5.

RCB suffered a couple of early hiccups, losing the wickets of Smriti Mandhana and Danni Wyatt-Hodge. However, the loss of their openers did very little to dampen their spirits. An incoming Ellyse Perry stabilized the innings and the boundaries soon came along.

Raghvi Bist played the perfect two to tango for Pez while it was the partnership of Kanika Ahuja and Richa Ghosh that sealed the game for RCB. The two joined forces when the ship was almost about to hit rock-bottom and surprisingly for everyone, the way they fought back, chronicling a historic win, set the tone for the season.