Royal Challengers Bangalore’s quest for their first home victory this season continues as Gujarat Giants delivered an all-around performance, spearheaded by Ashleigh Gardner, to inflict another defeat on them. After starting the season with two wins, RCB’s home games turned sour with two losses. They desperately needed a win on Thursday, February 27th, to reverse their fortune. However, a weak batting display led to their third consecutive loss.
Gujarat Giants began their chase of 126 cautiously. Renuka Singh managed to extract some swing early on, while D Hemalatha found some fortunate runs. Renuka’s impressive spell was extended, and her persistence paid off when Hemalatha was stumped by Richa Ghosh. Renuka continued her dominance by dismissing the dangerous Beth Mooney in her fourth over.
Gardner then entered with aggressive intent, hitting her first ball for four. With Renuka out of the attack, RCB needed another bowler to step up and maintain pressure. However, Gardner capitalized on the bowling change, hitting Prema Rawat for three fours and a six, putting RCB on the back foot. Despite Harleen Deol’s quick dismissal, RCB needed more wickets, defending a small total.
By the time the next wicket fell, Gujarat Giants were well on their way to victory. A dropped catch by Ghosh in the 13th over proved costly, as Phoebe Litchfield capitalized with boundaries. Any hopes of an RCB comeback were dashed when Gardner smashed consecutive sixes off Georgia Wareham to reach her half-century in style. Although Gardner was dismissed for 58, her teammates completed the chase in the next over.
Earlier, RCB had a disastrous powerplay after being asked to bat first. Danielle Wyatt-Hodge started with a boundary but was quickly dismissed lbw. A significant blow came when Ellyse Perry was caught out off a short ball from Gardner in the second over. Kashvee Gautam’s tight bowling added pressure, leading to Smriti Mandhana’s dismissal while attempting to accelerate after a slow start.
At 26/3 after the powerplay, RCB desperately needed a partnership. Raghvi Bist and Kanika Ahuja provided a boost, scoring 18 runs off Priya Mishra’s over. Ahuja looked particularly good, hitting a six, and Bist also cleared the boundary in the following over. However, against the momentum, the partnership broke when Bist was run out after a dropped catch by Gardner, attempting a risky single.
RCB’s innings quickly unraveled as Ahuja was dismissed in the next over. At 78/5, a comeback was unlikely, especially after Ghosh failed to contribute significantly. RCB managed only one boundary in the final overs, finishing at 125 – a total that was easily chased by Gujarat Giants with 21 balls remaining.
Match Summary: Royal Challengers Bengaluru 125/7 in 20 overs (Kanika Ahuja 33; Tanuja Kanwar 2/16, Deandra Dottin 2/31) lost to Gujarat Giants 126/4 in 16.3 overs (Ashleigh Gardner 58, Phoebe Litchfield 30*; Renuka Singh 2/24) by 6 wickets
