Bowlers, Smriti Mandhana shine as RCB tame DC in WPL
What's the story
An all-round performance from Royal Challengers Bengaluru saw them overcome Delhi Capitals in match number 4 of the Women's Premier League (WPL) on Monday at Kotambi Stadium, Vadodara.
DC were folded for a paltry score of 141 in 19.3 overs. Renuka Singh (3/23) and Georgia Wareham (3/25) were superb with the ball.
In response, Smriti Mandhana was exceptional with the bat, scoring 81.
Summary
How did DC's innings pan out?
DC lost Shafali Verma (0) early on (1/1). Thereafter, Meg Lanning and Jemimah Rodrigues added 59 runs as DC recovered.
However, both batters were dismissed in quick succession before Delhi lost the plot.
Sarah Bryce's 19-ball 23 and Shikha Pandey's 14 helped DC get past 140.
For RCB, Renuka and Wareham led the show. Kim Garth and Ekta Bisht claimed two scalps each.
Information
Rodrigues scores 32 for DC Women
Rodrigues top scored for DC. She managed 34 from 22 balls. Her knock had four fours and two sixes. In 20 matches, she now owns 397 runs in the WPL at 30.53. She owns a strike rate of 140-plus.
Bowling
Key numbers of the RCB bowlers
Garth bowled 3.3 overs and produced figures worth 2/19. She now owns 13 WPL wickets at 13.92.
Former GG bowler, Wareham, clocked 3/25 from her 4 overs. She has 12 scalps from 14 matches at 28.41. This is her career-best WPL figures.
In 18 WPL matches, Renuka has raced to 8 wickets at 54.12.
Meanwhile, Bisht opened her WPL wickets account (3rd match).
Chase
RCB earn an eight-wicket win
RCB's run-chase was supreme. Mandhana and her partner Danielle Wyatt-Hodge added a brilliant 107-run stand for the opening wicket.
The stand was broken in the 11th over as Arundhati Reddy dismissed Wyatt-Hodge.
Mandhana then departed in the 16th over. Shikha Pandey got the star batter.
Ellyse Perry and Richa Ghosh saw off the contest thereafter. RCB managed 146/2.
Information
Mandhana slams 81 from 47 balls; Wyatt-Hodge scores 42
Mandhana faced 47 balls for her 81. She slammed 10 fours and three sixes. She struck at 172.34. Wyatt-Hodge scored a valuable 33-ball 42. She struck 7 fours.
Records
2nd century-plus stand and career-best WPL score for Mandhana
This was RCB's 2nd century-plus stand in the WPL and Mandhana has been involved in both.
Before this, Mandhana and Sophie Devine had added 125 runs for the 1st wicket against GG in March 2023.
Mandhana's 81 saw her race to 531 WPL runs at 26.95. This was her 3rd fifty and a career-best score.
Words
Mandhana praises bowlers as RCB win
Post match, Mandhana praised the RCB bowlers and Wyatt-Hodge.
"The bowlers did a great job. Restricting them to under 150 was a great thing. Wyatt was brilliant in batting. The strategy was to bowl more pace but we took the call depending on the situation of the game. This ground never plays the same twice."
Mandhana said the team is proud of the bowlers.