Royal Challengers Bengaluru 146 for 2 (Mandhana 81, Wyatt-Hodge 42) beat Delhi Capitals 141 (Rodrigues 34, Renuka 3-23, Wareham 3-25) by eight wickets
Rodrigues leads DC in the powerplay, Lanning scratchy again
DC crumble again after the powerplay
RCB, however, made inroads through the introduction of Georgia Wareham in the seventh over. Once Rodrigues missed a reverse sweep to be stumped in a flash by Richa Ghosh for 34 off 22, DC lost Lanning as well in the next over when the captain miscued Kim Garth to Ellyse Perry at deep-backward square leg. Annabel Sutherland soon launched Bisht for a big six on the leg side to show that DC weren’t going to be bogged down by the double blow but her attacking approach handed a catch straight to cover in Renuka’s second spell. New batter Jess Jonassen miscued Bisht to midwicket five balls later and DC had suddenly slipped from 60 for 1 to 87 for 5.
It could have been 95 for 6 had Kanika Ahuja not put down Marizanne Kapp at short fine leg and even 103 for 6 if the mix-up between Kapp and Sarah Bryce had not been followed by a fumble, also by Ahuja, but it did become 105 for 6 when Kapp holed out to long-off off a 69.2kph delivery from Bisht. Bryce chipped in with another useful cameo with a 23 off 19 that saw RCB past 125 but they needed a lot more to make a match out of this. Wareham handed them a double blow in the 18th over and Garth wrapped things up in the last over to finish with 2 for 19, while Renuka bagged 3 for 23 and Wareham 3 for 25.
Mandhana, Wyatt-Hodge cruise through
Even with Kapp and Jonassen back in the XI after recovering from sickness, DC hardly posed any challenges for the RCB top order. Mandhana cashed in on the wayward lines from Kapp in the first over and turned the tide of her record against offspinners (she’s been out to them 10 times in the WPL) when she swept Minnu Mani for two fours in the third over. Wyatt-Hodge pierced the gaps square on the off side, especially against Shikha Pandey, for four fours in the powerplay.
At 57 for 0 in the powerplay, RCB’s asking rate was just over six an over. Even bowling changes didn’t work for DC. Both Jonassen and Annabel Sutherland were carted for fours by both batters in their first overs, and when the reliable Rodrigues dropped Wyatt-Hodge on 34 after Mandhana had collected back-to-back boundaries, the game was all but over.
Mandhana dispatched Kapp for six over midwicket and continued to attack Jonassen with lofted strokes on the off side to take her for 27 runs off 14 on the night. Even though both openers fell towards the end, Ellyse Perry and Ghosh ensured there were no jitters to seal the eight-wicket win and top the table.