From Smriti Mandhana to Sophie Devine – Top three RCB-W performers against Delhi Capitals

Fighting valiantly while chasing a colossal total posted by Delhi Capitals, RCB found themselves faltering in the dying embers of the game to conceded a 25-run loss in Match 7 of WPL 2024. RCB-W skipper, Smriti Mandhana, was in dream touch, smashing the bowlers to all corners of the park. She had decent support too from the other end but it eventually didn’t come to fruition.

Despite the defeat, the fans thoroughly enjoyed the performances of the RCB-W players, particularly their skipper. However, there were a handful of other showdowns too which set the stage for this valiant fare despite a late slump for the Royal Challengers. Here are our top three performers from the clash against Delhi Capitals.

1.    Smriti Mandhana – 74(43)

Mandhana was in exemplary touch, rocking the bowlers left, right and center. Realizing the importance of the scoring rate, the RCB skipper was in action straight off the bat. She clobbered 10 fours and three sixes while holding fort at one end, keeping the RCB-W hopes alive for quite a while. The strokeplay offered by Mandhana was simply out of the world and her fearless aggression up front was an apt replica of RCB’s ‘Play Bold’ spirit.

2.    Sabbhineni Meghana – 36 (31)

Ever since joining RCB-W, Meghana has been a firm presence in the top-order. Once again, showing her composure under the pump while also keeping the scorecard ticking, Meghana scored 36 from 31 balls, while hammering two fours and a maximum. It was her run-out in the 19th over that saw RCB-W collapse like a house of cards in the final two overs.

3.    Sophie Devine – 2/23 and 23 runs

Devine’s all-round showdown was an ode to the iconic White Fern as her intervention got the big wicket of Meg Lanning up front while she followed it up with another major wicket in the form of Marizanne Kapp, removing her just when it felt that she would bat RCB-W out of the match. With the bat in her hand, she was equally instrumental, firing 23 runs from just 17 balls, whacking a four and two sixes. She was also an important part of the opening partnership of 77 runs with Smriti Mandhana.