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Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) defeated Gujarat Giants (GG) by 8 wickets on Saturday in Match 16 of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
Sophie Devine played a sensational knock of 99 off 36 balls to bring the Brabourne stadium on its feet as RCB chased down the target of 189 with 4.3 overs remaining. Devine also contributed with the ball picking 1/23 while off-spin all-rounder Shreyanka Patil took 2/17 to help restrict GG to 188/4 in 20 overs.
With this big 8-wicket win, RCB went past GG as they are now at No.4 in the points table with two wins from seven games and a NRR of -1.044 which is better than GG, who have a NRR of -2.511.
Chasing a target of 189, RCB got off to a flying start as Devine and skipper Smriti Mandhana accumulated 13 runs off the first over. In the second over, Devine then took on the attack against off-spin all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner as she smashed her three fours and two sixes to make it 24 runs off the over.
Mandhana, who was struggling for form this season, finally got back her rhythm as she hit a six and a couple of fours off left-arm spinner Tanuja Kanwar. The opening pair of Mandhana and Devine completed their 50-run partnership off just 22 balls with Devine playing the aggressor role as RCB were 77/0 at the end of the powerplay.
Devine was in no mood to stop and continued to attack Gardner as she hammered her a six and a four in the seventh over. Devine brought up her fifty off just 20 balls with six fours and four sixes as 48 runs out of her 50 came in boundaries. She then targeted Kanwar, hitting her three sixes and a four to collect 25 runs off the over.
After some damage, GG skipper Sneh Rana finally provided some relief as she dismissed Mandhana caught and bowled on 37 off 31. However, Devine on the other hand was literally unstoppable as she kept hitting fours and sixes for fun at regular intervals.
At one point, the boundary distance looked too small for Devine as she was clearing the ropes with ease. She was on the verge of making history and came quite close to becoming the first-ever player to hit a century in WPL.
However, she was dismissed by getting caught at mid-off while trying to hoick one straight down the ground off pacer Kim Garth while being just one run short of her century. Nonetheless, Devine played a memorable knock of 99 off 36 balls at an unbelievable strike rate of 275.00 with nine fours and eight sixes.
After her dismissal, the whole Brabourne Stadium was on its feet as the fans gave her a standing ovation while she walked back to the pavilion.
With the equation down to just 32 needed off 49 balls, middle-order batter Heather Knight and all-rounder Ellyse Perry finished the match comfortably with eight wickets in hand and 27 balls to spare.
Sophie Devine scored an incredible 99 off just 36 deliveries in a successful run-chase for @RCBTweets and bagged the Player of the Match award 👏👏#RCB registered their second win in a row 👌🏻
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/6bZ3042C4S #TATAWPL | #RCBvGG pic.twitter.com/ytfyFsd5nV
— Women’s Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) March 18, 2023
Earlier, winning the toss and electing to bat first, GG made one change to their XI as Sabbhineni Meghana replaced Mansi Joshi, while RCB also made one change with Preeti Bose coming in for Renuka Singh Thakur.
The average 1st innings score at CCI was 169 and Rana said at the toss that anything above 160-165 runs will be difficult to chase down as the pitch might get slower as the game progresses. Smriti on the other hand was happy to chase as they were looking to bowl first.
Before the start of this game, out of the total 7 matches played at the CCI, teams batting first won 4 games while 3 games were won by teams chasing.
Openers Sophia Dunkley and Laura Wolvaardt got GG off to a great start as the opening duo displayed some impressive batting by hitting five fours off the first 15 balls.
Dunkley had hit two fours off Devine in the first over and one four in the third over before getting cleaned up by her on 16 (10) while trying to scoop a ball over short fine leg. Wolvaardt then ensured she keeps the run flowing by hitting a boundary almost every over to help GG reach 45/1 at the end of the powerplay.
Coming into bat at No.3, Meghana initially found it tough to get going and kept on taking singles to give strike to the in-form Wolvaardt. Meghana and Wolvaardt then brought their 50-run partnership off 43 balls for the second wicket as GG reached 78/1 at the halfway mark.
Devine then dropped a sitter at long-off to give life to Meghana, who was batting on 26 (29) at that moment in the 12th over off Bose. Just one ball later, Meghana slog-swept a good length ball towards deep mid-wicket for a four. However, on the very next ball off Bose, she was deceived in the air while trying to come down the wicket and was stumped on 31 off 32.
At the other end, Wolvaardt was looking comfortable at the crease and was in total control of her shots hitting them off the middle. She brought up her fifty off 35 balls by smacking a six over deep mid-wicket off a Free-hit from Perry, making it 15 runs off the 14th over.
In the 7-15 overs phase, GG scored 75 runs for the loss of one wicket. Wolvaardt and Gardner then got together and shifted gears to increase the run rate as the pair stitched a vital 52-run partnership off 32 balls for the third wicket. Off-spin all-rounder Patil then provided the breakthrough to RCB by removing Wolvaardt caught at mid-wicket for 68 off 42 to break the dangerous-looking partnership.
After her dismissal, Gardner kept the momentum going as she hit three fours off leg-spinner Sobhana Asha in the 18th over. However, she couldn’t stay till the end as Patil trapped her lbw in the 19th over with a full-pitched delivery.
The on-field umpire gave it out and Gardner reviewed it without showing much confidence as she knew the ball had hit her in front. The replays showed the ball was hitting the middle stump and the decision was upheld as Gardner had to walk back to the pavilion after playing an important cameo of 41 off 26 balls with six fours and a maximum.
Harleen Deol and Dayalan Hemalatha then gave momentum to the Giants as they finished the innings by smashing 22 runs off the last over from pacer Megan Schutt to help GG post a competitive total of 188/4 from their allotted 20 overs.
Deol was unbeaten on 12 off 5 with one four and a six, while Hemalatha was not out on 16 off 6 balls, hitting two fours and one maximum.
Sophie Devine earned the well-deserved Player of the Match award for her brilliant knock of 99 off 36 balls and figures of 1/23.
Brief Scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore 189/2 in 15.3 overs (Sophie Devine 99, Smriti Mandhana 37; Sneh Rana 1/25) beat Gujarat Giants 188/4 in 20 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 68, Ashleigh Gardner 41; Shreyanka Patil 2/17, Sophie Devine 1/23) by 8 wickets.
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