"Watch the ball and react": Mandhana's message to RCB players during Gujarat Giants clash
Feb 27, 2024
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], February 28 : Following Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) eight-wicket win against Gujarat Giants (GGT) in the fifth match of the Women's Premier League (WPL) on Tuesday, RCB skipper Smriti Mandhana revealed that there was no special message from her side to the squad, it was just "watch the ball and react".
While speaking at the post-match presentation, Mandhana opened up on Renuka Singh and Sophie Devine's bowling action and said that they can "swing the ball".
She showered praise on Sabbhineni Meghana and said that she was "brilliant" against the Gujarat-based franchise.
The skipper added that they put up a lot of hard work from the last season to reach this level.
"Really happy with the way the crowd turned out, big shoutout to them as well. There was no message, keep it simple, watch the ball and react. Me and Sophie do best when we are not thinking. The last match had more to do with the way we saw the first innings. We saw the last match here, there was something in it for the pacers. Renuka and Sophie can swing the ball, Renuka the inswinger and Sophie the outswinger, both were brilliant. S Meghana has had a good few seasons domestically and last game she was brilliant. Even today she is really calm and she can strike at a good strike rate and anchor the innings. A lot of work has gone in the last year on what kind of team we need. Thank the support staff and the management for this," Mandhana said.
Recapping the match, Mandhana and Meghana's blitzkrieg helped Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) seal a comfortable eight-wicket win over Gujarat Giants (GGT) in the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2024.
Mandhana and Sophie Devine came on the crease for the Bengaluru-based franchise while chasing a 108-run target. The Mandhana-Devine pair made a 32-run partnership until Ashleigh Gardner dismissed the Kiwi batting allrounder in the fourth over of the game. Devine scored only six runs from six and smashed one four with a strike rate of 100.00.
Meghana played a 36-run knock from 28 balls with a strike rate of 128.57. She slammed five fours and one six in the second inning. Meanwhile, Perry hit four fours and powered RCB to 110/2 and sealed a second consecutive win in the T20 tournament.
Earlier in the first inning, GGT displayed a poor performance in the game and could give a target of only 108 runs, which was easily chased by Mandhana's side.
