🏏WPL 2026, Match-9, RCB W vs GG W. Dr DY Patil Stadium. Navi Mumbai🏏

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women vs Gujarat Giants Women, 9th Match

Women's Premier League 2026, Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Navi Mumbai

Royal Challengers Bengaluru have had the perfect start to WPL 2026. And to enhance it for them, they have had two different types of victories in their two games. A come from behind win off the last-ball against Mumbai Indians was followed by a decimation of the UP Warriorz.

Two wins in entirely different fashion will give them added confidence as they aim to build on the promising start.

Amid selection and squad composition questions, RCB's bowling attack have been on the money from ball one successfully led by new recruit Lauren Bell.

The speedster has gone at only 3.75 runs an over, the only bowler in the tournament to go below four an over in the WPL so far, and has a dot-ball percentage of 70.8%. She has been well aided by Nadine de Klerk who has six wickets to her name.

The opening combination with the bat too has worked wonders for RCB. Grace Harris and Smriti Mandhana have set the tone while de Klerk bailed out RCB at the death with one of the most memorable innings of WPL history.

The rest of the middle-order is yet to come to the party but the team already have a lot to be optimistic about.

Meanwhile, Gujarat Giants started off the tournament in similar fashion to RCB with two wins in two. Their overseas batters came to the party from the first game with Sophie Devine, Ash Gardner and Georgia Wareham while Anushka Sharma showcased her skills in their first game.

Bharti Fulmali has finished off two games well while Kanika Ahuja could have a point to prove against her former side. The bowlers however have been leaky and it came back to bite them against Mumbai Indians earlier this week. Renuka Singh Thakur has the best economy amongst their bowlers which is still high at 8.10 and the Giants will look to course correct on that front when they take the field.

With the WPL heading into its final few games at Navi Mumbai's DY Patil Stadium, an interesting clash awaits!

When: Friday, January 16 at 7:30 PM IST

Where: DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai

What to expect: The tracks have begun to tire out in Navi Mumbai. But with dew around teams will in all probability, choose to bowl.

The only unbeaten team in the ongoing Women's Premier League (WPL), Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women, take on Gujarat Giants Women at Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Navi Mumbai, in the 9th match of the season on Friday (January 16).

Team News

Gujarat Giants: If Anushka Sharma is fit, she will return for Ayushi Soni who laboured at the crease with a 14-ball 11 before she was retired out.

Probable XI: Beth Mooney (wk), Sophie Devine, Anushka Sharma/Ayushi Soni, Ashleigh Gardner (C), Kanika Ahuja, Georgia Wareham, Bharti Fulmali, Kashvee Gautam, Tanuja Kanwer, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Renuka Thakur

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: With two wins from two, RCB are unlikely to make any changes to their XI barring any injuries

Probable XI: Grace Harris, Smriti Mandhana (C), Dayalan Hemalatha, Gautami Naik, Richa Ghosh (wk), Radha Yadav, Nadine de Klerk, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, Linsey Smith, Lauren Bell

RCB, the 2024 champions, have been right on the money so far and are deservedly at the top of the points table with four points from two matches.

They pulled off a heist against Mumbai Indians in the curtain-raiser, courtesy of Nadine de Klerk's clutch show in what was a last-ball thriller at the same venue. Following this, they brushed aside UP Warriorz, thanks to Grace Harris' brutal batting.

Harris scored 85 off just 40 balls in the run chase of 144 and added 137 runs for the opening wicket alongside skipper Smriti Mandhana, who anchored at a strike rate close to 150 with an unbeaten 47.

Courtesy of the carnage from the Australian, RCB cruised home with 47 balls and 9 wickets in hand.

The bowling has been incredible in both games. Lauren Bell has been bowling fabulous spells and has set the tone with the new ball. Nadine de Klerk and Shreyanka Patil chipped in with wickets, although the latter was slightly expensive against UP Warriorz. Arundhati Reddy and Linsey Smith have been useful, while Radha Yadav hasn't been required much. Although the Mandhana-led side bruised the Warriorz with five wickets for 50 runs, it failed to pick up any more wickets in the second half and allowed the opposition to get away past 140.

On the other hand, the Giants are third on the points table, with four points from three matches, having won two and lost one. Their batting hasn't been a concern so far, with the line-up firing on all cylinders, but the bowling and the fielding came back to haunt them in their most recent game against MI. They managed to get out of jail against UP Warriorz and Delhi Capitals, respectively, in their first and second matches. Sophie Devine, in particular, was the heroine of the clash against DC.

However, Devine had an average game against MI. Beth Mooney finally got some runs but couldn't cross the 40-run mark. Kanika Ahuja was promoted to number three, and there was a little spark in her innings. Ashleigh Gardner just returned with a cameo. Georgia Wareham played the anchor's role, while Bharti Fulmali stunned everyone with her power-hitting. Fulmali's 15-ball 36 helped the Giants to get to 192/5.

Between this, debutant Ayushi Soni was retired out after struggling to score runs at a good pace. She replaced Anushka Sharma in the line-up after the 22-year-old batter was ruled out of the fixture due to an injury. Her injury recovery timeline was labelled as 'short period', but it's unclear whether she will be fit for this game.

Renuka Singh Thakur and Kashvee Gautam started well. The former couldn't quite finish well. Devine wasn't at her best, although she broke a big and important partnership. The Indian and Australian spinners, including skipper Gardner, were expensive and dropped catches didn't help their cause either, as the Giants lost it by 7 wickets in the last over.

Gardner underbowled herself in the last game. However, she has a good matchup against her opposite number, Mandhana, and it will be a battle to watch out for in this game.

Can RCB make it three in three, or will the Giants bounce back into the winning ways?

When fans return to the DY Patil Stadium after two closed-door games at the WPL 2026, they will be in for a potential blockbuster clash: Smriti Mandhana vs Ashleigh Gardner.

For years, Gardner has enjoyed the upper hand in her duel with Mandhana, conforming to the offspinner-versus-left-hander trope. In all T20s, they have faced one another in 27 innings, with Mandhana scoring 156 runs off 156 balls and Gardner dismissing her nine times. Across T20 leagues, no bowler has dismissed Mandhana as often as Gardner; Nat Sciver-Brunt comes a close second with eight dismissals. But there are signs of this trend changing, particularly going by recent meetings in ODIs.

Till December 2024, Mandhana was out five times to Gardner for 68 runs in 76 balls in ODIs. She had only managed to hit her for two sixes. But things changed last year. In the absence of Shafali Verma from India's ODI squad, Mandhana had taken on an aggressive role. That saw her take Gardner head-on in four meetings, including in India's victorious World Cup campaign. She scored 96 runs in 71 balls off Gardner for zero dismissals, hitting her for five sixes. While Mandhana had a sedate approach earlier, she upped the intent last year with telling effect.