Richa Ghosh and Ellyse Perry made decisive fifties as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) defeated Gujarat Giants by eight wickets at Vadodara to open up WPL 2025 at Vadodara. Chasing down 202 in just 14 overs to claim victory was an impressive achievement by RCB; their reign as reigning champions allowed them to dominate this matchup with ease.
Gardner continues his downward slide with some poor misfields and drops, before Sayali Goyal drops him again, giving GG another opportunity to turn their game around.
For full details, refer to the Gujarat Giants (Wpl) Vs Royal Challengers Cricket Match Scorecard.
| Match Date | Venue | Result | Gujarat Giants Score | Royal Challengers Bengaluru Score | Player of the Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 4, 2025 | Bengaluru | Gujarat Giants won by 19 runs | 199/5 (20 overs) | 180/8 (20 overs) | Beth Mooney |
| Mar 6, 2024 | Delhi | Gujarat Giants won by 19 runs | 199/5 (20 overs) | 180/8 (20 overs) | Beth Mooney |
| Feb 27, 2024 | Bengaluru | Royal Challengers Bengaluru won by 8 wickets | 107/7 (20 overs) | 110/2 (12.3 overs) | Renuka Singh |
| Feb 14, 2025 | Vadodara | Royal Challengers Bengaluru won by 6 wickets | 201/5 (20 overs) | 202/4 (18.3 overs) | Richa Ghosh |
RCB: Smriti Mandhana
RCB have suffered injuries during their title defence, with Sophie Devine, Asha Sobhana and Kate Cross all out and Shreyanka Patil suffering with an ongoing issue. But they will hope to start strong against Gujarat Giants at Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara.
Even after losing its opening pair to an early start, RCB were still in control as they bowled out GG for 125. Ellyse Perry and Richa Ghosh played brilliant half centuries to give RCB a commanding advantage in this contest.
Skipper Smriti Mandhana was pleased with her team’s performance in their opening match of this tournament, yet lamented their failure to seize upon early opportunities. She highlighted the need to improve in all departments – particularly batting and fielding.
Beth Mooney and Sophia Dunkley of RCB struggled against GG’s Prema Rawat’s accurate bowling, becoming discombobulated as they struggled to score runs and lose control. Deandra Dottin and Tanuja Kanwar chipped in regularly with wickets; Captain Laura Woolvardt didn’t reach fifty but still helped her team secure an emphatic victory with 42 balls played.
GG: Ashleigh Gardner
Ashleigh Gardner of Golden Girl Cricket states they made an effective start to their innings by quickly picking wickets. She states they had to work hard in the middle overs, remaining positive and focused throughout. Furthermore, she stresses the need to maintain strong performance levels in subsequent matches as well.
She then noted that the team is performing admirably and expressed hope that their performance would continue to improve moving forward. She thanked them for the win and expressed her delight to play for such an outstanding franchise.
Beth Mooney was out for 56 off 42 when caught behind off Prema Rawat with a fuller delivery that she hit hard but flew straight through to Smriti Mandhana at midwicket.
Ellyse Perry and Richa Ghosh’s fiftys helped RCB secure an historic win at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, successfully chasing down their target of 202 runs at M Chinnaswamy and surging to the top of the points table, one point ahead of UP Women and three ahead of Delhi Capitals. On Sunday they take on Gujarat Giants at home RCB will look to build on this strong start when taking on Gujarat Giants themselves at home.
RCB: Renuka Singh Thakur
Bengaluru found some hope early in Season 2 of WPL when Renuka dismissed Beth Mooney and Dayalan Hemalatha with two wickets each, but their fielding proved their downfall, as drop catches proliferated throughout their innings; Richa Ghosh was dropped when score stood at 107/6 before it all unraveled further for them.
RCB had a slow start and were only saved by Raghvi Bist and Kanika Ahuja’s partnership of 93 runs which enabled them to post an acceptable total of 198/6.
Ashleigh Gardner continued her impressive form with the bat and together with Beth Mooney and Harleen Deol, she helped GG claim a convincing win. Gardner also shone on the ball by taking three wickets – including Ghosh who she dismissed with an exquisite yorker in the last over. Ghosh remains one of GG’s key batting weapons. In contrast, Royal Challengers Bangalore experienced their third consecutive home defeat and face an uphill struggle to break into the top four this season.
GG: Shabnam Md Shakil
Kashvi has made her mark as an elite cricketer over a career spanning more than 10 years, starting off as a fast bowler before honing her batting skills to play back-order for Gujarat Giants.
As she has demonstrated her maturity through her performance this season, playing an essential part in helping the team chase down runs in matches and taking four wickets so far this season.
Kashvi made her mark against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) during their opening game, taking two of their top order batswomen for just 16 runs in an innings totalling 127/8. She will look to continue this form when the Giants meet up against RCB again later in the year.
GG won the toss and elected to bat first. Even after losing both their openers – Smriti Mandhana and Danni Wyatt-Hodge early on, they managed to stabilize their innings through Richa Ghosh and Raghavi Bist. A 19-run over from Prema Rawat in the ninth over proved pivotal, and Phoebe Litchfield and Ashleigh Gardner added 51 runs between them at sixth wicket to give GG an easy win with over 20 balls remaining.
RCB: S Meghana
RCB have had an arduous start to their title defense as they have lost all three games at home so far this season. A disappointing loss against UP Warriorz and two straight defeats at Delhi Capitals have left Ashleigh Gardner-led side languishing near the bottom of the table with just one victory out of four played so far. On Thursday they face Gujarat Giants for another home leg encounter at M Chinnaswamy Stadium and hope they can turn things around with victory!
Though they have lost two matches so far, GG have demonstrated plenty of fight to remain in contention for a top-four finish. Their latest encounter against RCB saw an encouraging performance which put GG back on track – after struggling early on and needing Ashleigh Gardner’s introduction as the ninth over, their home side eventually managed to put up runs again!
A power hitting sensation was brilliant with both bat and ball, putting on an outstanding show of power hitting and precision timing with her 57-ball total of five sixes and seven fours to help her side surpass a modest target of 125 on an excellent batting surface. Her partner Raghavi Bist was equally outstanding with 65 balls worth of solid hitting to help the visiting side achieve victory; Deandra Dottin and Tanuja Kanwar led their bowling effort by taking two wickets each for their respective sides.
GG: Tanuja Kanwar
Kanwar was instrumental in leading her side towards their target of 190, and achieved an excellent 41-ball 68 but fell just short of hitting her 50. Unfortunately for Kanwar though, Sophia Dunkley and Harleen Deol had made life tough for GG, leading them on an unfortunate downward spiral which included multiple wickets lost through both bowling and fielding errors.
Kashvee Gautam had been an outstanding performer for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) during their opening two matches and once more on Thursday. At 21 years old, she is one of the most exciting young Indian fast bowlers and an essential cog in their wheel this season.
Since the launch of the WPL, GG and RCB have been fierce rivals, always providing an electrifying atmosphere at M Chinnaswamy Stadium during this fixture. Their battles have produced some nail-biting finishes with famous person cameos; their clashes may even feature new-look GG under Ashleigh Gardner leading their attack and Beth Mooney at their backline; with this rematch shaping up to be even fiercer!
RCB: Deandra Dottin
RCB have struggled in their opening two matches of this tournament and lost to Mumbai Indians and UP Warriors respectively, leaving them desperately in need of a win against Gujarat Giants Women at M Chinnaswamy Stadium to remain competitive for a championship title.
The visitors won the toss and elected to bowl first, restricting GG to 125 runs on an excellent batting pitch. Unfortunately, things didn’t go their way during the Powerplay as they gave away runs at will while missing several opportunities; Ellyse Perry mistimed a shot that fell just short and was out without ever scoring a run – Ellyse Perry herself made her exit after mistiming a shot towards Tanuja Kanwar at square leg and was dismissed without scoring a run!
RCB responded swiftly, with Sophia Dunkley and Harleen Deol batting strongly through the middle overs. Sophie Devine’s brilliant 99 off 36 was the highlight of a strong innings as they raced home with eight wickets remaining.
Ashleigh Gardner, captain of the Gujarat Giants is available for comment and shares her feelings on their loss despite leading. She praises their bowlers’ performances while acknowledging the team’s positivity on the field.
