Smriti Mandhana-led RCB will have their task cut out at the DY Patil Stadium when they face off against the Delhi Capitals in the team’s 5th match of WPL 2023. At the moment despite the best of their efforts, RCB are somehow still stuck in a rut of their own and will need the most extraordinary of showdowns to turn the tide around.

It is going to be a tale of the battle with an old foe as RCB take on Delhi Capitals against whom they started their WPL campaign. The last time these two teams met, Shafali Verma and Meg Lanning were in fierce touch that left the Challengers without a shot at putting pressure on the DC batting unit. Heather Knight was RCB’s best player on the day, with an all-round performance to show for. 

However, RCB’s major concern will be Mandhana’s lack of form with the bat and also the inefficiency if the bowling unit. With wickets hard to come by and the bowlers conceding almost 10 runs an over throughout the tournament, there is a lot of work that will need to be done for Smriti and co. With the kind of firepower that Delhi boast of, it will be intriguing to see how RCB play out this contest.

Personal battles:

Smriti Mandhana vs Jess Jonassen

Despite Smriti’s questionable form, a lot can happen if she gets going. She has got a handful of starts but somehow things have seemed to spin out of control after those early starts. She has a wide arsenal of strokes at her disposal and in order to combat the might of Jess Jonassen, RCB women will need Mandhana to fire all guns blazing.

Ellyse Perry vs Marizanne Kapp

When it comes to big names in cricket, these two can leave others reeling behind by the proverbial mile. Perry got her maiden half-century in WPL in the last game and will be desperate to replicate her steaming hot form as Delhi come knocking on the doors. Perry is the only consistent name to have conjured decent numbers for the Challengers and as the all-round prowess of Marizanne Kapp looming large, Perry will have to showcase her might.

Renuka Singh Thakur vs Shafali Verma

Renuka Singh has looked a pale shadow of her dominating self and she’ll need to find new ways of tackling the Delhi batting unit. With just one wicket to show far, a lot of onus will be on Renuka to get RCB off to a good start and keep the Shafali Verma threat at bay. 

Match Details:

Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Delhi Capitals

Dr. DY Patil Stadium

13th March, 2023

7:30 PM

Squads:

Royal Challengers Bangalore:

Smriti Mandhana, Sophie Devine, Ellyse Perry, Renuka Singh, Richa Ghosh, Erin Burns, Disha Kasat, Indrani Roy, Shreyanka Patil, Kanika Ahuja, Asha Shobana, Heather Knight, Dane van Niekerk, Preeti Bose, Poonam Khemnar, Komal Zanzad, Megan Schutt, Sahana Pawar

Delhi Capitals:

Jemimah Rodrigues, Meg Lanning, Shafali Verma, Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Marizanne Kapp, Titas Sadhu, Alice Capsey, Laura Harris, Jasia Akhter, Minnu Mani, Tara Norris, Taniyaa Bhatia, Poonam Yadav, Jess Jonassen, Sneha Deepthi, Aparna Mondal, Arundhati Reddy