RCBW vs GGW Match Preview
After losing their first 6 matches on the trot, the RCB Women finally had something to cheer about as they tasted victory by defeating the UP Warriorz earlier this week.
It was a disciplined bowling effort by the Royal Challengers after they chose to bowl first. The seamers did an excellent job as Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, and Sophie Devine took 6 wickets between them. As a result, the Warriorz were bowled out for a modest total of 135.
The chase began on a shaky note for the Bangalore Women as skipper Smriti Mandhana’s torrid time with the bat continued and she was dismissed for a duck in the very first over. At one stage, RCB were 60-4, with their best performers including Sophie Devine, Ellyse Perry, and Heather Knight back in the dugout and the team seemed to be heading for another defeat. However, Kanika Ahuja and Richa Ghosh patiently built up a partnership, putting together 60 runs for the 5th wicket as RCB registered their first win of the season and kept the faint hope of qualification alive.
Perry and Devine are once again likely to play an important role in this match but the fans will be hoping that Smriti Mandhana plays a big inning here. Heather Knight and Richa Ghosh have played well in patches but cannot afford to falter here.
Harleen Deol has been the most consistent player with the bat for the Giants this season, scoring 186 runs in 6 innings. Laura Wolvaardt and Ashleigh Gardner scored individual half-centuries in the match against the Delhi Capitals and put up a partnership of 81 runs to set the base for a win. Gardner has done well with the ball too, picking up 9 wickets so far, and is the leading wicket-taker for the Giants this season.
Sophia Dunkley and D Hemalatha have played a couple of good innings but will need to perform better here. Kim Garth is expected to lead the pace attack, with Mansi Joshi helping her from the other end. The two specialist spinners in the team, skipper Sneh Rana and Tanuja Kanwar have struggled so far and have managed to claim just 4 wickets each in 6 matches.
Weather Report
The weather is expected to remain clear with temperatures ranging from 28-31 degrees Celsius.
Pitch Report
The Brabourne Stadium offers a flat surface which is good to bat on and the team batting first will look to get somewhere around 180 runs to give their bowlers a good total to defend. The quicker bowlers find little assistance here and will need to bowl a good line and length. The spinners will get some help though as the ball tends to grip the pitch.
Notable stats
Heather Knight's All-Round Performance
Heather Knight is a solid performer in the middle order and plays the role of a finisher. This season, she has scored 101 runs at a strike rate of 148.52 and has also picked up 4 wickets.
Team News
There are no updates regarding injuries from either side.
RCBW vs GGW Probable 11
RCBW Playing 11
- Smriti Mandhana (C)
- Ellyse Perry
- Sophie Devine
- Heather Knight
- Richa Ghosh (Wk)
- Shreyanka Patil
- Kanika Ahuja
- Disha Kasat
- Asha Shobana
- Megan Schutt
- Renuka Singh
GGW Playing 11
- Sophia Dunkley
- Laura Wolvaardt
- Harleen Deol
- Ashleigh Gardner
- Sneh Rana (C)
- D Hemalatha
- Sushma Verma (Wk)
- Kim Garth
- Tanuja Kanwar
- Mansi Joshi
- Ashwani Kumari
Dream11 Prediction
We are backing the Royal Challengers Bangalore to win this match. While they haven’t been in the best of forms this season, the win in their previous match will help boost their confidence. The team has some world-class performers including Ellyse Perry, Smriti Mandhana, and Sophie Devine and they will surely give more than 100% to stay alive in the tournament.
Top Picks
Laura Wolvaardt: Laura Wolvaardt has been a consistent opener for the South African National team over the years. In her international T20 career, she has scored 1079 runs at an average of 30.82 and an impressive strike rate of 109.10.
Sophie Devine: Sophie Devine is an explosive batter at the top of the order and is also very effective with the ball. She has scored a total of 2969 runs in her international T20 career and has also picked up 110 wickets.
Megan Schutt: Megan Schutt is one of the most effective seamers in Women’s T20 cricket and uses the new as well as the old ball to good effect. She has picked up 124 wickets in 96 matches and has an excellent economy rate of just 6.21 runs per over.
RCBW vs GGW Dream11 Team 1
Keeper: R Ghosh
Batters: S Mandhana, S Devine, H Knight, L Wolvaardt
All-rounders: S Dunkley, H Deol, E Perry (C), A Gardner (VC)
Bowlers: M Schutt, T Kanwar
