Lots of improvement but lots to work on: Smriti Mandhana on defeat against Delhi Capitals

It was a valiant showdown from the Royal Challengers Bangalore as they went head-on against the mighty Delhi Capitals and almost got the job done, only to be refuted glory in the dying embers of the contest as Marizanne Kapp and Jess Jonassen managed to steer the ship around in emphatic fashion in match 11 of WPL 2023.

However, unlike the others, it was not a contest that fizzed away in the middle. Both sides struggled to score and by the time they could get the required numbers on the scorecard, there was a lot on the table for discussion.

RCB skipper Smriti Mandhana talked at length about the positives that RCB managed to conjure and also added a tint of what could possibly have been done better that would have helped the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the match against DC.

Talking at the post-match awards show, Smriti said, “Really good effort by the bowlers to take it till the 20th over. Lots of improvements but lots to work on still.” She then shifted her focus to two of RCB’s finest performers against DC, Richa Ghosh and Ellyse Perry, adding, “That partnership brought us back into the game. They both used their experience to get us to a defendable total. It gave momentum back to us. It was not the best of starts, including my batting. That first 14 overs did really hurt us. 10-15 more runs there would have helped.”

Smriti concluded by talking about the pitch, adding, “It (the pitch) is changing. The number of matches being played at these venues, towards the fag end, I think wickets will get slower.” Talking about the wickets tending to get slower, RCB found handsome dividends coming from Asha Sobhana, who bagged a couple of wickets in yesterday’s fixture.