Bruised RCB eye maiden win against UP Warriorz to stay alive

Royal Challengers Bangalore vs UP Warriorz

Two sides, who need their captains – both world-class opening batters – to fire.

All Royal Challengers Bangalore need right now is a bit of confidence after three straight losses, and a big Smriti Mandhana innings will be key to that. She has got good starts in all the matches but she’s not been able to convert those, getting out to offspinners all three times. UP Warriorz captain Alyssa Healy, meanwhile, has lost her wicket in the powerplay in both games so far.

While bruised Royal Challengers will be looking for their first win in the tournament, Warriorz will be looking to add more points against their name to strengthen their position after a loss in the previous game.

Royal Challengers came close in their third match against Gujarat Giants, eventually losing by 11 runs, after a big loss in their first two games. Though they are mathematically not out of the competition yet, another defeat will dent their slim hopes of qualifying for the knockouts.

Warriorz, on the other hand, fell 42 runs short against the high-flying Delhi Capitals after completing an epic chase against Gujarat Giants to open their campaign.

With the teams still figuring out their right combinations, the captains of these two sides have made a few baffling choices in their respective previous games. Warriorz had brought in legspinning allrounder Devika Vaidya for the match against Capitals but did not bowl her in the game. Similarly, for the match against Giants, Royal Challengers replaced batter Disha Kasat with legspinner Poonam Khemnar, who ended up not bowling even a single over. Warriorz also picked fast bowler Shabnim Ismail in the second match for allrounder Grace Harris, who had single-handedly won them their first match.

Tahlia McGrath tried her best with an unbeaten 50-ball 90 against Capitals, but it all came a bit too late in the 211-run chase. She quickly got off the blocks and impressed with her power-hitting, taking on the likes of Jess Jonassen and Marizanne Kapp. Along with Harris – if she’s brought back into the XI – McGrath makes the Warriorz middle order look formidable.

Heather Knight has quickly become Mandhana’s go-to bowler with her part-time offspin. She’s proved she can deliver too, getting crucial breakthroughs in both games she has bowled. Apart from her four wickets across two games, the England captain also played a 11-ball cameo against Giants, scoring five fours and a six on her way to an unbeaten 30.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (possible): 1 Smriti Mandhana (capt), 2 Sophie Devine/Dane van Niekerk, 3 Disha Kasat, 4 Ellyse Perry, 5 Heather Knight, 6 Richa Ghosh (wk), 7 Kanika Ahuja, 8 Shreyanka Patil, 9 Megan Schutt, 10 Renuka Singh, 11 Preeti Bose

UP Warriorz (possible): 1 Alyssa Healy (capt, wk), 2 Shweta Sehrawat, 3 Kiran Navgire, 4 Tahlia McGrath, 5 Deepti Sharma, 6 Grace Harris, 7 Simran Shaikh, 8 Devika Vaidya, 9 Sophie Ecclestone/ Shabnim Ismail, 10 Anjali Sarvani, 11 Rajeshwari Gayakwad

“I think every team is realising that to bowl on these wickets… they are batters’ paradise to be fair. There is no seam, there is no swing, quick outfield. It’s a real test as a bowling unit and I don’t think any team has been able to crack it yet. This is an area we improved on but we can get a lot more disciplined in terms of execution.”
Royal Challengers’ Sophie Devine after the loss to Giants

This article was originally published by Espncricinfo.com. Read the original article here.

Bruised RCB eye maiden win against UP Warriorz to stay alive

Royal Challengers Bangalore vs UP Warriorz

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