MATCH STORIES
Follow UsSmriti Mandhana never looked settled at the crease. Right after hitting Tahila McGrath for a six and a four on consecutive deliveries, she was tangled in a zone of uncertainty. Shots were uncharacteristic. Instead of two reprieves adding to her confidence, the RCB skipper played a rash pull shot towards fine leg - and boom, it was the end of a very timid innings.
Sabbhineni Meghana was looking at it haplessly from the other end. She would have been forgiven if she followed suit; no one would have batted an eyelid. But when she slammed Grace Harris for a hat-trick of boundaries in the fifth over, a chorus of approval came through from the stands to leave Alyssa Healy, the UP Warriorz skipper, searching for answers.
Then came Richa Ghosh. One of India’s most promising talents, Ghosh managed just 138 runs in the WPL 2023 with a highest score of 37. Over the last two years, she has been backed by the Indian team management to keep wickets and act as a finisher, which she has done with distinction, but in the RCB line-up, she was still searching for her identity.
With top order gone, it was her chance to become a permanent heartthrob among RCB fans. She took her time to settle down, but after dispatching Rajeshwari Gayakwad for a four in the 13th over, there was no looking back. While Meghana injected chaos into the process, Ghosh was all about brute force. She treated the Chinnaswamy with some range-hitting - the kind which fans in this part of the world have grown accustomed to in the last 16 years of watching IPL at the venue.
That’s the thing with this venue. Cricket always comes tertiary to the cause. It is the crowd that revs you up and wants you to be indulged. It’s only prudent that when #CricketKaQueendom made its way into the Garden City, there was no let up in jazzing things up. Like they would do for a Virat Kohli or an AB de Villiers, the RCB faithful flocked into the Chinnaswamy in thousands to cheer for their WPL team. The hope lingered with ESCN - If You Know, You Know - making its come back.
For the kind of season RCB had in 2023, anything less than a win in the opening encounter would have been a blow to their moral recovery. That bowlers hold a larger sway over the proceedings than the batters at Chinnaswamy is never a question of arrogance, but a matter of fact. So they surely had Sobhana Asha to thank for her incredible bowling performance that set up the victory. But it was also a sign of the things to come for RCB - despite the headwinds in the Men’s competition, they have always searched for a squad in which individuals would complement each other.
Any more comparison with the men’s team would be denigrating the kind of things the bunch of girls under Mandhana have set out to achieve, and as things stand, they have the right ammunition to make it a reality. Runs from Mandhana, Devine, and Perry would be nicer as they make the fulcrum of the side, but with the likes of Meghana and Richa holding a lower-order control, they can always hope for things to turn around from the lows of Mumbai 2023.
