Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women vs Gujarat Giants Women, 9th Match, Women's Premier League 2026 - Commentary

That's it for tonight from the WPL. We will see you in a double-header tomorrow. Bye bye.

Radha Yadav | Player of the Match (translated from Hindi): I enjoyed it a lot. The conversation I had with Richa was very crucial. It wasn't an easy situation to bat in as we had lost four wickets. I will give full credit to Richa for the way she spoke to me. I know I have the shots, the game, the temperament and everything but the way Richa passed on the confidence was very important. (what was the chat with Richa?) She told me to be calm, see what the opposition were doing, dot balls will come, don't worry. We can capitalise later on as we have the shots. The belief she had on me gave me a lot of confidence. (favorite shot?) The first ball I faced I middled, I then knew I have done this before for the state and for India A. So I had that confidence. But to do it here for the first time on this stage gives me a lot of joy. (thoughts on your back foot six) I think RX sir (RX Murali - batting coach for RCB) has worked a lot on my power-hitting so I have to credit him for that. (how would you celebrate this win?) The match is done, we won, so work done. That's it. I also want to say something - Shreyu bowled really well, it's not so easy to bowl as a spinner in such dewy conditions, so I want to share this award with her.

Smriti Mandhana | RCB-W captain: Yeah, it was good. I mean, all the girls and the partnership between Radha and Richa was something really special to watch. And then, yeah, Shrey coming in and bowling those overs, crucial overs and getting those crucial wickets. I mean, overall, the whole team performed really well today. (on Radha's promotion) Well, she's always played that role for the state cricket for Baroda. And she's always done well, even when India A toured Australia A. We knew that she always bats at that order. And we always look at her as a finisher. But I feel that order was something....Then when we lost out on Pooja for the first four, five matches where we thought of her pre-auction, then I mean the easiest swap was Radha because she's done that for the state team. And I mean, as WPL, I mean, it's an Indian league and if someone's batted at that order in the state cricket, you should back them to do that. And yeah, I mean, when you do that, they come good. (were you confident of defending this?) Well, with DY Patil and the dew you don't know what's a good total. But with our bowling, the way we've bowled in the first two matches and I mean the variety which we have, we have two quality left-arm spinners, good offspinner again with pace bowling options as well. We have Bell, Aroo and Nadine. So I mean, when you have that sort of a variety and everyone can deliver under pressure. So, so for sure, I mean, we had that confidence, but again, you can't be too overconfident at DY Patil. (areas to work on?) We've definitely dropped two catches today and both were sitters. So that's something which we really back our pride ourselves to be a really good fielding side with the kind of fielders everyone we have. So that's not something which is acceptable. And yeah, again, delivery, delivering. I don't think in terms of other ways there's something which we can definitely work on is the middle-order where we're losing wickets in again back to back wickets. That's something which we'll have an eye on and we'll keep working on. Again, there's a lot of areas we can still work on.

Stats by Roshan Gede

Five-fors in WPL
6/15 - Ellyse Perry (RCB-W) vs MI-W, Delhi, 2024
5/15 - Marizanne Kapp (DC-W) vs GG-W, Mumbai DYP, 2023
5/22 - Asha Sobhana (RCB-W) vs UPW-W, Bengaluru, 2024
5/23 - Shreyanka Patil (RCB-W) vs GG-W, Mumbai DYP, 2026
5/29 - Tara Norris (DC-W) vs RCB-W, Brabourne, 2023
5/33 - Nandani Sharma (DC-W) vs GG-W, Mumbai DYP, 2026
5/36 - Kim Garth (GG-W) vs UPW-W, Mumbai DYP, 2023
5/38 - Amelia Kerr (MI-W) vs UPW-W, Lucknow, 2025

This was Shreyanka’s third 4-plus wicket haul in the WPL; Amelia Kerr (2) is the only other with multiple such hauls.

Shreyanka Patil in WPL
vs RHBs: 17 wickets at 19.64, SR: 13.5, ER: 8.67
vs LHBs: 10 wickets at 12, SR: 8.6, ER: 8.37

There have been 20 instances of teams losing their first four wickets for 50 runs or lower in the WPL. Only two of them have resulted in wins, both to RCB-W: vs MI-W in Delhi in the 2024 Eliminator and today.

This is the first time that RCB-W have started a WPL season with three straight wins.

Aged 23y 169d, Shreyanka Patil is the youngest to get a 5-wicket haul in WPL

Shreyanka Patil: Firstly, I would love to give the credits to Radha because if not for her innings, I don't think so we would have put that total up on the board. I'm really happy the way Richa and Radha contributed in the first innings, knowing they were four down, we were 40 for 4, and then to just play those innings, I think it's massive impact and it gave us a lot of confidence seeing that 170-180 on the board. Gave us a lot of confidence knowing dew is gonna play a major role. We knew the last couple of games, we saw huge dew, heavy dew coming into picture because the last two games we've played on this wicket, we didn't face that much of dew. So we were ready for dew today and I think the bowlers did tremendously well and I'm very, very happy that I got my first fifer in WPL. (how hard was it to come back after 14 months out?) I mean, I've gone through a rollercoaster of a ride personally for me. I think I have dealt in with it. I came out of it in a very strong way. I would say I think credit goes to my support system. My coach is here, my grandparents are here and my uncle, aunt are also here supporting. My sister also is here, she left her job and she came all the way from Bangalore to watch me. So I'm very happy and just that the fact that I was out of cricket for 14 months was a big blow for me because I am someone who can't sit quietly. I want to be on the field. I want to be on the cricket field. Do what I love doing. So yeah, I'm very happy with the preparation I got the last month as well with Arjun sir back in Bangalore. I think I've put in a lot of hard work the last couple of months and I'm very happy that my execution is falling in place right now. (on being an attacking bowler rather than a defensive bowler) I think... I am a wicket-taker bowler. I've always said that because the drift I get, the turn I get and the bounce I get is something I've not seen much. I'm giving a lot of credit to myself. I don't know why. But yeah, I think I've worked towards it. I just didn't want to be a containing bowler. I wanted to be a wicket-taking bowler and be that impactful bowler for the team in any given situation, be it the powerplay, be it the middle-overs or the death because I've prepared so well in any given phase of the game. I know that I'm looking to get wickets. So yeah, again, going back to practice, the scenarios I have played, the match-based scenarios, bowling against boys, getting hit, learning from them. I mean, it's just a whole lot of hard work. (how do you construct an over?) I kept it pretty simple even Anya and Malo sir kept saying that just keep things simple because your stock ball is the best ball on this wicket. If there is some turn or little slower, this is your kind of a wicket. So I kept things simple, got those arm-balls going and just bowled a lot of off-spinners today because high percentage on this wicket... I think my stock ball played a huge role. And obviously bowling to left-handers is a big advantage, advantage being an off-spinner and Smriti kept saying that you have to get all the lefties out in the tournament. That's your objective. No pressure. So yeah, that's what we keep talking and I've got a lovely support system here as well. So yeah.

Ash Gardner | GG-W captain: Yeah, obviously we wanted to bowl first and, you know, finally winning that toss and doing what we wanted. We felt like there was a little bit in the wicket early if we could do what we needed to do. And I think, you know, we set the game up and then I think, yeah, Radha obviously batted brilliantly. We probably fed our strength for way too long and then she kind of got going and then obviously we know the threat that Richa possesses. And unfortunately, we weren't able to, I guess, pull them back quicker than probably what we should have. So yeah, I still think 180 was very gettable. And it just shows when a top-order batter for our team doesn't, you know, score those, score those important runs at the top. Yeah, it kind of leaves us a little bit short. (on chasing) Yeah, I think so. And, you know, conditions can kind of dictate that as well. You know, looking at the last couple of games, we felt like chasing was a real option. But then I guess looking at our track record, we almost scored 200 in our first three games setting. So that's probably something that we need to have a look at going into Baroda, obviously, a different venue as well. And we just probably need to assess that really quickly. You know, we've a pretty short turnaround after we travel. So making sure that, you know, we've got those things in place with whatever we do first, you know, I think there was lots of great glimpses tonight with the ball and then with the bat, obviously, we just were, you know, not good enough. (good to see resistance from the lower middle-order?) Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, where we speak about one of the top four or five kind of being there till the 15th so then those girls have the opportunity to kind of do what they do best and really finish off, finish off an innings. And obviously tonight they probably batted for a little bit longer than what we would have liked. But I think it still shows the class that they have, we know the talent that Kashvee has with both and ball and someone like Bharti to come in and clear the ropes pretty early on in our innings. It's really pleasing to see, but I think where we let ourselves slip was probably not having that top-order batter to kind of bat through and then having those girls come in around us to set the platform and then go big at the end. (on their next game) Yeah, well, we head there tomorrow. So, you know, it's a pretty quick turnaround and, you know, these competitions happen really quickly and it's, for us, it's being able to stay really present. You know, Maxi (Klinger) at the start of the tournament said that we are gonna stay consistent and level whether we win or lose. And I think that's super important in these competitions. They come thick and fast. And, you know, it's shown that, you know, it's been challenging for bowlers throughout this and tonight we obviously got challenged with the bat, making sure that we take the positives out of what was tonight's game and even last time's game as well when we lost that as well. So there's plenty of positives, which is always a great thing. And I guess plenty of learnings out of that as well.

22:58 Local Time, 17:28 GMT, 22:58 IST: A superb performance from Shreyanka Patil headlines RCB-W's third win in a row. She led the way with a fifer. She is being hugged by Shrubsole and Malolan Rangarajan. Devine and Mooney started off well but Arundhati broke that stand with a sharp catch. Mooney was looking dangerous as she took on Bell and smashed her. But Shreyanka struck by getting her LBW and then Gardner went soon after. From there it was always tough but powerful blows from Kashvee and Bharti kept Gujarat in the hunt. Shreyanka broke that dangerous stand and when Bharti fell, that was the final nail in the coffin. When Shreyanka came for her final over, she was on 3 wickets and duly took the last two to finish with a deserved fifer. Consecutive losses for GG-W. Stay tuned for the post-match stuff...

Shreyanka Patil to Renuka Singh, THATS OUT!! Caught!!

Shreyanka Patil to Tanuja Kanwer, THATS OUT!! Caught!!