Renuka Singh Thakur to Sophie Molineux: RCB-W’s top 3 performers against Gujarat Giants

It was another fine day in the office for RCB-W as they got the better of Gujarat Giants without breaking a sweat at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. A fine bowling display spearheaded by Renuka Singh Thakur set the platform for RCB-W for another brilliant showdown while a swashbuckling display of power-hitting from Smriti Mandhana and Ellyse Perry laced with composure from Sabbineni Meghana got the job done for the Women in Red and Gold.

As RCB-W clinched their second straight win on the trot, here are the top three performers for RCB-W from last night’s triumph against Gujarat Giants.

1.    Renuka Singh Thakur – 2/14

Renuka Singh started the evening on a rambunctious note after deceiving Beth Mooney with an inswinger. The ball nipping back in after pitching had Mooney believe that it was going to be a straighter one and while the latter committed to play a drive on the rise, the white cherry stormed through her gates to leave her stumps rattled. The second wicket for Renuka was another treat to watch as her widish delivery on the fifth stump on the off-side left Phoebe Litchfield scrambling to regain her balance and while she did that, Richa Ghosh’s lightning fast glovework caught the Aussie short of her crease.

2.    Smriti Mandhana – 43 (27)

The RCB-W skipper burst back to form, hammering away the bowlers up front. With 107 needed, the Royal Challengers Women were not sitting back to defend. The captain ensured the fact that they were going after the bowlers and they were going after them hard enough to leave a trail of despondent Giants in their wake. Mandhana blasted eight fours and a six and was also a part of a crucial partnership with Sabbhineni Meghana to help RCB-W inch closer to the finishing line.

3.    Sophie Molineux – 3/25

Molineux was late to join the party but was bang on her money as she first left Veda Krishnamurthy flummoxed for her first wicket. An attempted drag to try and clear the fence from the seasoned campaigner would only end up in the safe hands of Georgia Wareham at deep midwicket. Kathryn Bryce had no response whatsoever to an arm ball from Molineux as the ball stormed through her gates to leave her timbre in ruins. Molineux collected her third wicket of the evening as she got the ball to spin past Sneh Rana’s bat, with the Giants’ batter coming down the track only to miss the ball and depart after Ghosh completed an easy stumping.