Resurgent RCB hope to push for that all-important second win as Gujarat Giants stand in their path

In what was a much-needed shift in momentum for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, the side registered their first win of WPL 2023 against the UP Warriorz and they’ll need to produce a similar performance against the Gujarat Giants to stay alive in the competition. 

On the back of a solid showing with the ball from Ellyse Perry and a slew of performances from youngsters with the bat, RCB pulled off a win against the Warriorz. Keen to ride on that wave of momentum, RCB will try and challenge the Giants, who themselves stunned the Delhi Capitals in their previous encounter. 

Sophie Devine, Ellyse Perry, Heather Knight and a late charge from Shreyanka Patil helped keep RCB’s chase alive in the first encounter between these two sides, only to be denied a win in the dying embers as the wickets toppled in a hurry. More importantly for RCB, the bowling unit came to light against the Warriorz, bowling out the team and that will be a massive advantage for the side heading into the clash against Gujarat. 

Gujarat Giants, too, will be buoyed by confidence as they will be coming fresh from a win against the Delhi Capitals and will be hopeful of putting their best foot forward as the opportunity to keep themselves alive in the hunt seems slightly better than RCB at the moment.

They have a sturdy batting line-up that will try and fire at full throttle but consistency has been a major issue for them. There have been instances where they have left the opponents broken, beaten, and scarred while there have been moments where they have curled themselves in the husk faster than a lightning bolt.

With all said and done, this is going to be an entertaining battle of two sides who have so far struggled in the tournament but will be coming to this fixture on the back of swashbuckling victories, hoping to make amends for their earlier slip-ups.

Key player battles:

Smriti Mandhana vs Sneh Rana

Smriti has so far been reticent in the tournament and barring those couple of decent knocks, she has simply failed to hit the stride. With the team coming back to life and with Virat Kohli handing them over a supercharged pep-talk, she will be hoping to turn the tide around. The RCB skipper has struggled to get going against the spinners, and with the threat of her opposite number Sneh Rana looming large, this could be a game-changing battle.

Ellyse Perry vs Ashleigh Gardner

Ellyse Perry has been handy both with the bat and the ball in recent times and is currently RCB’s highest run-scorer in WPL 2023. Her three-fer in the last game would be another alarming reason for the opposition to be wary of what she brings to the table. Another star all-rounder who’s left her mark in the tournament is Ashleigh Gardner, and the battle between the two compatriots promises to be very entertaining. 

Asha Sobhana vs Harleen Deol

After a relatively poor start to her WPL 2023 campaign, RCB’s leg spinner Asha Sobhana has turned things around with four wickets from the last two matches and has troubled the best of batters with her guile. For Gujarat, Harleen Deol has top-scored so far with 186 runs from six matches, and the RCB leggie could well be introduced nice and early to send the right-hander back to the shed early.

Match Details:

Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Gujarat Giants

Venue: Brabourne Stadium

Date: 18th March, 2023

Time: 7:30 PM IST

Squads:

Royal Challengers Bangalore:

Smriti Mandhana (C), 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

Gujarat Giants:

Sneh Rana (c), Ashleigh Gardner, Sophia Dunkley, Annabelle Sutherland, Harleen Deol, S. Meghana, Georgia Wareham, Mansi Joshi, D. Hemlatha, Monica Patel, Tanuja Kanwer, Sushma Verma, Hurley Gala, Ashwani Kumari, Parunika Sisodia, Shabnam MD, Kim Garth.