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Predictions 
The 2025 edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) got off to a flying start. The record run-chase, the highest run aggregate in a match, a couple of quick fifties, all-round brilliance and so much more. It was Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) who showcased their might and started their title defence with a stunning run-chase.
When Gujarat Giants (GG) posted a mammoth 201, the task seemed steep. Only once in the history of Women’s T20s has a score of 200 or more been chased down before. However, RCB showed exactly why they are the defending champions as they hunted down 202 with nine balls to spare. It was the highest-ever successful run-chase in the history of the WPL.
GG will rue the dropped chances. They were absolutely poor in the field and it came back to bite them in the end.
The game started with RCB winning the toss and opting to bowl first. They had a good powerplay as they kept GG to 39/1. Beth Mooney started steadily alongside Laura Wolvaardt as the pair added 30 runs in the first four overs.
It was Renuka Singh Thakur who gave RCB their first breakthrough as she knocked over Wolvaardt. Dayalan Hemalatha didn’t last long either as the returning Kanika Ahuja struck in her first over to reduce the hosts to 41/2 in the 7th over.
RCB dominated the first nine overs (GG were 53/2) but the timeout saw the momentum shift. Mooney greeted Georgia Wareham with three fours in the 10th over to give the side some impetus and notched up her fourth WPL half-century. But she was dismissed a couple of overs later, courtesy of a good catch from RCB captain Smriti Mandhana. Debutant Prema Rawat got her maiden scalp.
GG were 85/3 in the 12th over at that stage before GG skipper Ash Gardner played a blinder. She smashed Rawat for three sixes in the 14th over to kickstart the onslaught. She shared a vital 67-run stand with Deandra Dottin who chipped in with an excellent cameo of 25 off 13 balls.
Gardner raised her half-century in just 25 balls and eventually finished with 79 off just 39 deliveries. She hit eight sixes and three fours in her knock as she helped GG go past the 200-run mark. GG scored 114 runs in the last eight overs as RCB lacked control at the death. A couple of drop catches didn’t help their chase either.
Perry 57 lays the foundation before Ghosh hits 64 off 27 to take RCB home
In reply, RCB had a solid first over. Mandhana got off the mark with a couple of boundaries while Danielle Wyatt-Hodge also struck a crisp boundary. However, skipper Gardner changed the game in the second over. She had Mandhana LBW on the second ball and it was the 9th time in T20s that the off-spinning all-rounder got the better of the RCB skipper. Gardner then knocked over Wyatt-Hodge to reduce RCB to 14/2.
It could have been three down easily if Tanuja Kanwar had held onto a sharp return catch. Ellyse Perry got an early reprieve when she was batting on 2.
But those two wickets didn’t stall RCB’s momentum. Perry had walked out looking very positive. She raced to 17 off 11 balls while debutant Raghvi Bist made 16 off 14 balls as RCB finished the powerplay at 51/2. GG missed a runout chance of the latter in the 6th over.
Bisht slowed down post the six-over mark but Perry kept going. The veteran Australian all-rounder got another life as she was dropped again on 19. And she made GG pay. Perry kept finding the fence regularly and notched up 5th WPL fifty in just 27 balls. It was her knock that kept RCB in the hunt as they reached the 100-run mark in the 11th over.
But the defending champions lost both set batters in the space of nine balls and went from 100/2 to 109/4. Richa Ghosh came out and was on the attack from the very first ball. She was dropped on 0. And that cost GG very dearly. Once Ghosh got her first six, there was no stopping her. Kanika Ahuja who missed the 2024 edition due to injury was the perfect support at the other end.
RCB needed 79 runs off the last six overs when they found a 16-run over off Sayali Satghare before Ghosh got stuck into GG’s best bowler Gardner. The India and RCB wicket-keeper batter smashed four fours and a six to suddenly turn the game in RCB’s favour.
The next two overs went for 16 and 17 as Ghosh kept plundering boundaries while Ahuja chipped in with her bit as well. Ghosh notched up her half-century in just 23 balls before wrapping up the run-chase in the 19th over. Ghosh and Ahuja added a staggering unbeaten stand of 93 runs for the 5th wicket which came off just 37 balls.
Despite Perry’s superb knock of 57, chasing 202 was always going to be a steep task. However, Ghosh’s power-hitting made it look like a walk in the park for RCB. They’ve gotten off to a blistering start to their title defence while GG who have finished with the wooden spoon twice in a row will want to bounce back and take the positives from this game. They will want to make the most of this home leg.
BRIEF SCORES: Gujarat Giants 201/5 (Ash Gardner 79*, Beth Mooney 56, Deandra Dottin 25, Renuka Thakur 2/25, Kanika Ahuja 1/19) lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru 202/4 (Richa Ghosh 64*, Ellyse Perry 57, Kanika Ahuja 30*, Ash Gardner 2/33, Deandra Dottin 1/41) by six wickets.
