On Monday, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) showed great determination in their Women’s Premier League match against Gujarat Giants and achieved a competitive total of 178 for six.
The team had a very bad start as openers Grace Harris and Georgia Voll got out in the first two overs itself, and then RCB was in trouble at only nine runs. But, after that, Gautami Naik’s superb 50-run partnership was crucial in the team’s recovery and the scoring rate during the middle overs.
A very vital partnership of 60 runs between Smriti Mandhana and Naik supported the innings after the early fall of wickets. Mandhana had made 26 runs when she was dismissed controversially through an umpire review but not before she had laid the foundation for RCB’s final score. Naik’s calmness with the bat ensured that RCB ended with a good score even after a rocky start.
RCB becomes the first team to qualify for WPL 2026 Playoffs:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru made history by being the first team to qualify for the playoffs in the Women’s Premier League 2026, thanks to their impressive victory over Gujarat Giants by 61 runs at the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara on Monday. The win was RCB’s fifth victory in a row since the start of the tournament and Gautami Naik’s first WPL fifty was instrumental in leading the team to a strong total of 178 for six. Then the bowlers performed incredibly well and brought the Giants down to secure the win comfortably.
Along with last season’s win, RCB has now enjoyed a total of a six-match winning streak, thus making a new record of the longest winning series in women’s T20 cricket.
Team Smriti Mandhana RCB has still not given up on grasping the power of the league. They are the two-time WPL champs, who got the second edition in 2024 and are currently positioned first in the standings, plus they are the favourites for direct qualification to the final. With such a remarkable campaign, the team now only needs one more win out of the remaining three matches to guarantee a spot in the finals and continue their search for another trophy.
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