RCB Women put up a fight but fall short in their WPL season opener against the Delhi Capitals

It was not the finest of starts for the Royal Challengers Bangalore as the Delhi Capitals put on a show with the bat, amassing 223/2 on the board which RCB fell short of in the end by 60 runs at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. 

RCB skipper Smriti Mandhana won the toss and opted to field first on a track that looked flat at first glance, but the bowlers were made to toil hard as the Capitals’ openers found the fence with ease.

Despite a significant shuffle of the bowlers by Mandhana, wickets were hard to come by for the RCB bowlers, with both the DC openers in imperious form. It was not until the 15th over that England all-rounder Heather Knight struck first and had Lanning (72) bowled before she removed the well-set Shafali Verma (84) two balls later.  

The duo had piled up 162 for the opening wicket and despite the double whammy, Delhi had no intentions to relent as they continued to make merry. The Capitals finished on a high, riding on a late surge from Marizanne Kapp (39*) and Jemimah Rodrigues (22*) to post 223 on the board. 

Set a tough yet gettable total, RCB got off to a fluent start as Smriti Mandhana took on Kapp in the 2nd over, giving her side some early impetus. Sophie Devine had her early moments of glory until a stunner from Shafali Verma sent the New Zealander back to the hut for an 11-ball 14.

Much to RCB's woes, Mandhana fell shortly thereafter, paving the way for Delhi to essay further infractions. Despite a resolute shift from Ellyse Perry (19-ball 31), things stumbled faster than a tide of woes rushing through a crevasse in the dam, as the Challengers had a collapse in the centre featuring the wickets of Disha Kasat (9), Richa Ghosh (2), Kanika Ahuja (0), Sobhana Asha (2) and the Australian all-rounder, leaving RCB rattled at 96/7.

At that stage, Knight (21-ball 34) and Megan Schutt (19-ball 30*) engineered a fightback, putting on a 54-run stand for the 8th wicket that helped RCB battle until the very end. 

RCB finished with 163/8 on the board, eventually falling 60 runs short but they will help to turn things around and register their first win when they take on the Mumbai Indians tomorrow at 7.30 PM in the same stadium.