The Smriti Mandhana-led Royal Challengers Bangalore will aim to leverage their raucous crowd support when they meet Beth Mooney's Gujarat Giants at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Let's look at three key player battles that could shape the outcome of the Women's Premier League 2024 clash
After contrasting opening bouts, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Giants are gearing up to take each other on in match 5 of Women's Premier League 2024 at the former's home ground - M Chinnaswamy Stadium - on Tuesday, February 27. (Full Coverage | Schedule And Points Table)
While the Smriti Mandhana-led Bangalore scraped past UP Warriorz by two runs in a nail-biting contest, Beth Mooney's Gujarat succumbed to Mumbai Indians' all-round show as the latter comfortably won the clash by five wickets, with 11 balls to spare.
Mandhana's team enjoys raucous crowd support in Bengaluru, so much so that the India opener found it hard to even make herself heard at the toss of her team's first game. She and her side will get similar backing when they turn up on Tuesday, and will aim to leverage that with an inspired performance.
The two teams have faced each other twice before, in the first season of the Women's Premier League, and won one game apiece. In the first clash, Gujarat had racked up a big score of 201 and then restricted Bangalore to 190/6 to register an 11-run victory. The second match-up saw Bangalore romping home by eight wickets, chasing down a target of 189 with 27 balls to spare.
ALSO READ: RCB Women - Team Profile
Squads
Royal Challengers Bangalore Women: Smriti Mandhana (c), Sophie Devine, Ellyse Perry, Sabbhineni Meghana, Richa Ghosh (wk), Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana, Simran Bahadur, Georgia Wareham, Kate Cross, Renuka Thakur Singh, Disha Kasat, Nadine de Klerk, Ekta Bisht, Sophie Molineux, Indrani Roy, Shubha Satheesh, Shraddha Pokharkar.
Gujarat Giants Women: Beth Mooney (wk/c), Laura Wolvaardt, Harleen Deol, Phoebe Litchfield, Ashleigh Gardner, Veda Krishnamurthy, Dayalan Hemalatha, Sneh Rana, Tanuja Kanwar, Meghna Singh, Mannat Kashyap, Shabnam Md Shakil, Priya Mishra, Trisha Poojitha, Kashvee Gautam, Tarannum Pathan, Kathryn Bryce, Lauren Cheatle.
Let's take a peek at three key player battles that could influence the outcome of the RCB-W vs GG-W game.
Smriti Mandhana Vs Sneh Rana
Anyone who follows Indian cricket knows that Smriti Mandhana is a free-flowing top-order batter, with drives to kill for. Her USP is the ease with which she lofts spinners and pacers alike to get her team off to good starts, be it whichever format.
But in her India teammate Sneh Rana, Smriti will have a tricky challenger to tackle. The spirited off-spinner will take the ball away from her and make hitting across the one a tough proposition. Both players have the experience and wherewithal to offset the other. It remains to be seen who wins.
Beth Mooney Vs Sophie Molineux
Known as one of the most consistent batters in world cricket, Beth Mooney is a mainstay at the top of the order for any team she walks into. The 30-year-old wicketkeeper has the ability to play a captain's knock at any juncture to bail out Gujarat, and will eye a good start in the Powerplay against RCB's bowlers.
Among those bowlers is a certain Sophie Molineux, who successfully defended 11 runs in the last over to help Bangalore win a thriller last Saturday. The 26-year-old left-arm spinner will relish the opportunity of taking on her senior compatriot in a battle of wits and technique.
Harleen Deol Vs Asha Sobhana
India middle-order batter Harleen Deol is one of the vital cogs in the Gujarat Giants batting wheel and can be relied upon to shine when the team needs her. She aggregated 202 runs in the first WPL edition and will be eying another fruitful outing.
Standing in her way would be another all-rounder -- Kerala's Asha Sobhana who made all and sundry sit up and take notice with a fantastic fifer against the Warriorz to set up the hosts' come-from-behind victory. The leg-spinner will be eyeing Harleen's scalp to dent Gujarat's chances.