RCB make it two in two with a dominant win over Capitals

Royal Challengers Bangalore thrashed the Delhi Capitals by eight wickets with 3.4 overs to spare. Renuka Singh Thakur and Georgia Wareham led the way with three-fers to bowl the Capitals out for 141, resulting in a comfortable victory. RCB skipper Smriti Mandhana then led from the front with a scorching 81, her highest WPL score, and was well supported by Danielle Wyatt-Hodge (42) in a 107-run first-wicket stand.

Because of the expected dew in the second innings, the Capitals got off to a bad start as Shafali Verma was caught on her first delivery, chipping it straight to mid-off. Jemimah Rodrigues survived a tight LBW shout from Thakur a few balls later since the impact was an umpire's call, and the on-field judgment was not understood. Meg Lanning and Rodrigues had a few overs to adjust to the swing before scoring two boundaries against Thakur and Kim Garth.

They continued their onslaught against Ekta Bisht in a 14-run over before teenager Joshitha VJ was punished for 15 runs. The Capitals scored 50 runs in the third and sixth overs, bringing up a 50-run partnership. When things were looking bleak, Wareham stumped Rodrigues after the batter failed to reverse-sweep. Lanning, the other set hitter, left five balls later after top-edging Garth to fine-leg. The two wickets fell in the first two overs following the timeout.

RCB applied the pressure after two fast wickets and the Capitals lasted 22 balls without scoring a boundary. Annabel Sutherland slog-swept Bisht for six before falling in the next over to Renuka. Jess Jonassen and Marizanne Kapp, brought in for this game, fell very cheaply, deciding to drop Niki Prasad questionable. The Capitals slumped from 60/1 to 105/6 as RCB bowlers suffocated the hitters. Mandhana rotated her bowlers effectively to maintain pressure on the hitters. Sarah Bryce (23 off 19) appeared capable of propelling the Capitals above the 150 mark, but she was stumped by Wareham before Thakur and Garth finished the tail.

In response, Mandhana got RCB off to a flying start, taking advantage of Kapp's error in line with two boundaries. Accompanied by Wyatt-Hodge, the hitters could not look back, as even the early use of off-spin against Mandhana failed. Wyatt-Hodge hit four boundaries from Shikkha Pandey in two overs, while Mandhana smashed Arundhati Reddy for six over extra cover, helping RCB reach 57 by the end of the PowerPlay.

The flurry of boundaries continued as Sutherland and Jonassen were ripped apart by Mandhana, who scored 50 off 27 balls, her quickest in the WPL. Rodrigues dropped Wyatt-Hodge, which added insult to injury for the Capitals. But she made amends two overs later, dismissing the English batsman after RCB reached 100 in 10 overs.

Another fielding slip occurred when Ellyse Perry chipped one in the air, but Lanning and Sutherland left it for each other, and the ball fell safely. Mandhana pumped Sutherland to the boundary, followed by a slog-sweep off Jonassen, reducing the equation to 11. The RCB captain was caught at a fine leg following an attempted scoop, and the job was nearly complete. Richa Ghosh finished with a four and six as RCB maintained their good start to the season.

Brief Scores: Delhi Capitals 141 in 19.3 overs (Jemimah Rodrigues 34, Sarah Bryce 23; Renuka Singh Thakur 3-23, Georgia Wareham 3-25) lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru 146/2 in 16.2 overs (Smriti Mandhana 81, Danielle Wyatt-Hodge 42; Shikkha Pandey 1-27) by eight wickets.