GG vs RCB Match Highlights: Gujarat Giants registered their maiden win in the Women’s Premier League yesterday, March 8, when they defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by 11 runs in a thrilling encounter at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
GG vs RCB Match Highlights – Dunkley, Harleen shines
Sophia Dunkley’s 18-ball half-century in the top order and Harleen Deol’s 45-ball 67 helped the Giants post a total of 201 for 7 wickets in front of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). The Royal Challengers team was unable to chase down the target and could eventually manage to score 190 runs for 6 wickets.
Before the tournament began, the Royal Challengers were touted to be one of the strongest teams in the competition, featuring the most expensive player in the league in captain Smriti Mandhana. However, RCB have performed against expectations in the opening weeks of the WPL, losing all their three matches so far and finding themselves at the bottom of the points table.
In contrast, Gujarat Giants had suffered a last over defeat in their previous match against UP Warriors in a thrilling match where Giants lost what they had won. But they came back strongly in yesterday’s match against Royal Challengers, in which Dunkley led the side with her blistering innings.
Dunkley outperformed
๐๐'๐ ๐ง๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ ๐๏ธ
— Women's Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) March 9, 2023
Post match shenanigans with @akgardner97, @imharleenDeol & Sophia Dunkley ๐๐๐ป – By @28anand
Full Interview ๐ฝ๏ธ๐ฝ #TATAWPL | #GGvRCB https://t.co/Ij0r5smAS3 pic.twitter.com/E68vOrlHyB
The 22-year-old Dunkley brought up her half-century in the fifth over of the innings, scoring a total of 68 runs, of which 22 runs came in a single over off left-arm spinner Preeti Bose. Though Dunkley was not the team’s first choice as the opening pair, she justified her selection. She was eventually dismissed for 65, studded with six fours and four sixes, before being dismissed by Shreyanka Patil.
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Deol’s patiently innings
At the other end, Harleen Deol played a patient knock in which she faced 45 balls to score 67 runs. She took advantage of fielding gaps in the ground and batted artistically in front of the RCB bowlers, even hitting Ellyse Perry for three consecutive fours in one over. Only Shreyanka Patil was the standout among the Royal Challengers bowlers, taking two wickets for 32 runs in her four overs.
In reply, Royal Challengers started their innings well but soon found themselves struggling with the required run rate. Devine performed exceptionally well for the team as he scored 66 off 45 balls. He did not get much support from the rest of the team’s batting line-up.
Captain Mandhana failed again
The biggest disappointment for the Royal Challengers was the failure of their skipper Mandhana, who got out cheaply yet again. It was her third dismissal in three matches against off-spinners in the tournament. Ashleigh Gardner, who dismissed her this time, proved the Australian’s impressive record against the Indian star.
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Devine, Knight’s efforts did not work
Despite Devine’s efforts, the Royal Challengers were always behind in the chase, with the required run rate rising steadily. In the final overs, Heather Knight scored a quickfire 30 off just 11 balls, but her effort was not enough to turn the game in her team’s favour.
After the match, Devine admitted that her team was struggling to deal with the slow pitch and frequent dot balls. The pitch doesn’t help the bowler at all, “no seam, no swing, just a fast outfield”. It’s a real ordeal for the bowling unit and I don’t think any team has found a solution yet. “However, today we didn’t take full advantage of it, we played too many dot balls and that resulted in falling short of the target in the last overs,” he added.
The win was a much-needed psychological victory for the Giants, who came very close to winning their previous match. They will hope to maintain this momentum and continue their winning streak in the coming matches.
On the other hand, the opening week of the Women’s Premier League has been disappointing for the Royal Challengers, who have suffered their third consecutive defeat in this journey. They will need to organize quickly, make the right decisions in the match and get back to winning ways if they are to make their campaign a success.
Conclusion:
Overall, yesterday’s match was a thrilling contest between two evenly matched teams, with some impressive individual performances from both the sides. However, it was the Gujarat Giants team that emerged as the winners.