RCB stage extraordinary turnaround against Gujarat Giants to rack up third win on the trot
Royal Challengers Bengaluru powered to their third win on the trot in WPL 2026, courtesy of an excellent turnaround by their lower-middle order, while their bowlers came together to pump out another collective masterclass. Winning the toss, Gujarat Giants opted to bowl first.
RCB went with an unchanged XI from their win against the UP Warriorz. Grace Harris got off to another solid start, firing 17 off just eight balls. However, the fall of Harris led to an unfortunate slide in the middle as RCB lost Dayalan Hemalatha (4), Smriti Mandhana (5) and Gautami Naik (9) in quick succession.
Wobbling at 43/4, RCB needed something special to save the day and it came in the form of a rock-solid stand between Richa Ghosh and Radha Yadav. Radha took over the reins in phenomenal fashion, changing gears gradually. Richa played the perfect two to tango to Radha’s controlled brilliance with the duo bringing RCB back to the game.
Yadav’s power-packed 66 from just 47 balls, hammering six fours and three sixes at a stunning strike rate of 140.43 coupled with Richa’s dominance, which saw her blasting 44 from 28 balls, allowed RCB to get back up. The duo added 105 runs for the fifth wicket, taking the Royal Challengers to 148 before Ghosh fell to Georgia Wareham.
However, that wasn’t the last of crazy power-hitting that the Giants had seen. Birthday girl Nadine de Klerk arrived at the center with an objective of belting every ball to the boundary. De Klerk smashed 26 off just 12 balls, rocking two fours and two sixes while Radha continued her usual brilliance at the other end. RCB totted up a formidable 182/7 at the end of their 20 overs.
With the kind of batting that the Giants possessed, it went without a saying that RCB needed a few early breakthroughs if they were to remain in the hunt. Beth Mooney (27) provided Gujarat the all-important gear at the start of the innings. The Giants looked in good control before Arundhati Reddy could finally apply the brakes, removing the dangerous Sophie Devine (8).
RCB struck in quick succession, further claiming the scalps of Mooney and Ashleigh Gardner (3) in no time at all. Kanika Ahuja (16) did come up with some resistance but Shreyanka Patil doubled down on the pressure getting the better of Ahuja as GG stuttered at 63/4.
Nadine de Klerk joined the party as well, chiming in with the wicket of Georgia Wareham (13) as RCB reigned supreme. However, a fine partnership between Kashvee Gautam (18) and Bharti Fulmali (39) saw the Giants knitting together a crucial stand of defiance while the RCB bowlers kept the pressure on.
The stand of 56 runs was finally broken by Shreyanka, who removed Kashvee Gautam. The fall of Kashvee was fairly the beginning of the end for the Giants. Lauren Bell’s final over produced a couple of wickets as she registered her best figures for RCB. She claimed the big wicket of Bharti Fulmali and Shivani Singh, finishing with numbers of 3/29.
Shreyanka Patil struck twice in her final over, removing Tanuja Kanwar (21) while chronicling her first fifer of her WPL career with the scalp of Renuka Singh (2). RCB bundled out GG for 150, registering another big win by 32 runs. Radha Yadav won the Player of the Match for her defining performance with the bat.
