🏏WPL 2026, Match-9, RCB W vs GG W. Dr DY Patil Stadium. Navi Mumbai🏏 - Page 3

"Nothing really changes for us in terms of process. It's obviously a used wicket and spinners with the hard ball will get something out of it. We want to restrict them to a chaseable total. Difficult ground to defend totals. Bowling not a concern. Obviously our batting's been great. There are areas we can improve on with the ball but we just need to make sure we are simple with our plans," Gardner says. Confirms Shivani Singh's debut.

Pitch and conditions: We’re back on Pitch 5, the centre pitch here at the DY Patil Stadium. Let me quickly give you the dimensions: it’s 56 metres on either side of the wicket, and 66 metres straight down the ground. We’ll take a closer look at the surface in a moment, but there’s an interesting statistic to note; since the 2024 final, no team has won the toss and chosen to bat first. The main reason is that the wicket actually changes between innings. During twilight, you tend to see a lot more swing here, and there has been some assistance for spin as well. As the dew sets in later, the outfield becomes quite wet. It creates a nice sheen, and the ball really skids on. So teams look at it and think - the wicket gets better. With a lightning-fast outfield and small boundaries, the logic is to bowl first, restrict the opposition, and then chase. Think 180-plus is the bare minimum batting first here. Around 200 tends to be a winning score. We’ve seen Lauren Bell get some outstanding swing with the new ball. It might also be that teams score a lot more in the back end of the innings - the last 10 overs. Lauren Bell tonight will get another opportunity with the new ball, whether it’s the first or second innings, we’ll wait and see. But because of her height and her ability to shape the ball both away and back in, she’s going to be a real handful here. She’ll love bowling with the new ball under the twilight sky and getting that movement. If you bat first, you’ve got to put 180 on the board at the very least, to give your bowlers something to work with and avoid being punished too heavily in the second innings. That’s also why RCB have been the most economical side in the powerplay, thanks largely to Lauren Bell with 75% dot balls. However, they’re up against Gujarat Giants, who have been blistering in the powerplay.

Teams:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women (Playing XI): Grace Harris, Smriti Mandhana(c), Dayalan Hemalatha, Gautami Naik, Richa Ghosh(w), Radha Yadav, Nadine de Klerk, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, Linsey Smith, Lauren Bell

Gujarat Giants Women (Playing XI): Beth Mooney(w), Sophie Devine, Ashleigh Gardner(c), Shivani Singh, Georgia Wareham, Kanika Ahuja, Bharti Fulmali, Kashvee Gautam, Tanuja Kanwer, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Renuka Singh Thakur

Ashleigh Gardner: We’re going to have a bowl tonight. I think nothing really changes for us in terms of process. Over the last couple of games, it’s shown that it’s a used wicket. With a harder ball, the spinners do get a little bit out of it as well. For our bowling group, it’s about taking early wickets and then trying to restrict them to a chaseable total. It’s quite hard to defend at this ground, so ultimately we want to keep them to as little as possible and then let our batting do the talking at the end. Our batting has been great, no doubt, but there are definitely areas with the ball where we can improve. That’s always the case. It might sound cliche, but it’s about sticking to what we do really well. Of course, you consider the opposition, but it’s more about keeping things simple. At this ground, you need two or three options with the ball because it’s really nice to bat on. So we just need to be very clear at the top of our mark, whether we’re trying to restrict or take wickets. Shivani Singh comes in for her debut today.

Smriti Mandhana: Tosses are never in your control. I think it’s good to experience different situations early in the tournament. If you keep bowling first initially and then later have to bat first, it helps. I’m happy with it. The wicket has been pretty even in terms of batting first or fielding. If we play good cricket, the toss won’t matter as much. It’s more about continuing the same things. Doing the basics right. The work ethic in this team has been really good. Everyone is working extremely hard. I see a lot of girls hitting the gym, and it’s been hard for our coach to get everyone out of the nets, even after practice - which is always a good sign. So it’s about keeping all of that intact till the end of the season. It really depends on the situation. We don’t want to label it as one particular way of playing. It depends on how the situation is and how well we’re timing the ball. With Grace (Harris), you don’t really need to tell her how to bat, she bats the way she bats. For all of us, it’s about executing what we plan. If we need to play the anchor role, we should be able to do that too. We want to play positive and aggressive cricket, but I wouldn’t say that’s the only way we’re going to go forward. We’re going in with the same team.

Renuka Singh to Grace Harris, 5 wides

Grace Harris and Smriti are at the crease. Grace Harris is on strike. Renuka Singh will open the attack

RCB need their openers to set the tone upfront: RCB could be in a bit of trouble if their openers don't deliver. With limited experience in the middle order, the onus is firmly on the top pair to lay a solid foundation and provide a strong start.

Grace Harris reviews! She has been adjudged out lbw. She took a late review and the replays confirm this was missing leg

Renuka Singh to Grace Harris, FOUR, another loose delivery by Renuka Singh. This was pitched up around middle and leg,

Thanks for the tag...fiery start from RCB

Over 8

1 0 0 4 6 1 (12 runs)

RCBW 61-4

Radha Yadav

14(13)

Richa Ghosh

4(5)