RCB gear up for WPL curtain-raiser against Gujarat Giants

It all starts tomorrow for the defending champions as Royal Challengers Bengaluru lock horns with the Gujarat Giants in the WPL 2025 curtain-raiser. With quite a few injury concerns on the board, RCB will be looking forward to putting their best combination together, yet posing the same threat that they started last year’s tournament with.

RCB will be buoyed by the presence of their captain, Smriti Mandhana, who is also in great touch. The arrival of Ellyse Perry will be a major boost for the champions as well. However, missing out on the trio of Kate Cross, Sophie Molineux and Sophie Devine will need to be addressed. The Indian base for the Royal Challengers will be another pivotal talking point featuring the likes of Renuka Singh, Richa Ghosh, Sabbhineni Meghana and Ekta Bisht, names that can win games almost single-handedly.

Gujarat Giants come in locked and loaded with star-studded names like Laura Wolvaardt, Phoebe Litchfield, Ashleigh Gardner and Deandra Dottin. They will be riding high on their overseas star power to come good at the Vadodara International Cricket Stadium. The Giants will be desperate to come through with better numbers after just two wins in the last iteration of the tournament.

Venue Watch

The surface at Vadodara is a dry one, offering ample turn for the spinners. The new ball will be drifting around for the seamers but then as the shine disappears, it should be a batter-dominated track. The surface tends to slow down in the second half which will make batting first a better option.

Match details:

Match: Gujarat Giants vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Venue: BCA Stadium, Vadodara

Date: 14th February, 2025

Time: 7:30 PM

Head-to-head:

Matches played: 4

RCB: 2

GG: 2

Squads:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru:

Smriti Mandhana (C), Richa Ghosh, Danni Wyatt, Kanika Ahuja, Sabbineni Meghana, Ekta Bisht, Kim Garth, Shreyanka Patil, Ellyse Perry, Prema Rawat, Georgia Wareham, Raghvi Bist, Heather Graham, Jagravi Pawar, Renuka Singh, Charlie Dean, Nuzhat Parween, Joshitha VJ.

Gujarat Giants:

Ashleigh Gardner (C), Harleen Deol, Prakashika Naik, Beth Mooney, Kashvee Gautam, Priya Mishra, Bharti Fulmali, Laura Wolvaardt, Sayali Satchare, Danielle Gibson, Mannat Kashyap, Shabnam Shakil, Dayalan Hemalatha, Meghna Singh, Simran Shaikh, Deandra Dottin, Phoebe Litchfield, Tanuja Kanwer