WPL 2023: RCB-W vs UP-W 8th Match - Predicted Royal Challengers Bangalore Women Playing XI vs UP Warriorz Women

Royal Challengers Bangalore will eye to end their prolonged drought and scalp their maiden win in their third Women's Premier League (WPL) match against UP Warriorz on Friday. The match will be played at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on March 10. UP have won one of their two matches played so far while RCB are yet to open their account.

The Alyssa Healy-led UP are coming out of a 42-run defeat against Delhi Capitals in their previous match. RCB, on the other hand, last lost to Gujarat Giants in a close finish. The Smriti Mandhana-led side will have to field a strong XI to not just put up a fight but also secure some vital points against UP Warriorz.

Here is Royal CHallengers Bangalore predicted XI for the match against UP Warriorz:

Openers: Smriti Mandhana (c) , Sophie Devine

Skipper Smriti Mandhana hasn't been able to get the start in this tournament that she would have hoped for. In 3 matches, the top-order batter has managed to aggregate 76 runs. The star opener will look to play a better knock on Friday to keep her side alive in the tournament. The India vice-captain who is leading a team for the first time, is yet to impress in the ongoing tournament.

New Zealand batter Sophie Devine did not perform well in RCB’s first two matches, scoring 14 and 16, respectively. However, she played a vital role in their chase against Gujarat Giants in the last match. The star batter scored a stunning 66 off 45 balls, including two maximums and eight boundaries. She provided RCB a glimmer of hope before her side fell short by 11 runs.

Middle order: Heather Knight, Richa Gosh (wk)

Heather Knight is having a fine run in the tournament so far. She played a quick fire 11-ball 30 against Gujarat Giants which kept RCB's hopes alive much till the climax of the match. She is also the current highest wicket-taker for RCB, having picked up four wickets in three games. She will look to contribute both with bat and ball in RCB’s next game against UP Warriorz, in order to not let the doors close on her team.

Richa Ghosh has not been to able to make a notable contribution to her side yet. In three games, she has scores of 2, 28 and 10, thus managing to accumulate an overall score of just 40 runs. Considered to be a tested match-winner, Ghosh had lived up to the expectations in the T20 World Cup but has failed to bring much of her form to the ongoing tournament. However, the wicketkeeper batter will focus more in the upcoming matches which are going to be extremely crucial in deciding RCB's fortunes in this tournament.

All-rounders: Ellyse Perry, Kanika Ahuja, Poonam Khemnar 

Ellyse Perry has played decent short innings for RCB so far, without being able to register any match-winning knock. Scoring 31, 13, and 32 respectively, Perry has managed to find her way but have failed miserably to convert her starts into big scores. The Australian star all-rounder is yet to pick up a wicket for the franchise. She would look to change it all on Monday when RCB faces UP in their fourth outing.

Kanika Ahuja did not get to play any major role either in RCB's first three matches. She is also yet to pick up a wicket for the side but have managed to score some quick runs against Mumbai and Gujarat to give RCB some tinge of assurance going with her into the further end of the tournament.

Poonam Khemnar only featured in RCB’s last match against Gujarat Giants where she came into the playing XI replacing Disha Kasat who did not have a great outing in either of the first two matches. Khemnar too didn't have a great day on her debut as she managed to score just two runs during her short stay in the middle. With not much room left for experimentation, Khemnar would be looking to make it count in her next appearance against UP.

Bowlers: Preeti Bose, Megan Schutt, Renuka Thakur, Shreyanka Patil

Preeti Bose has only picked up one wicket for the franchise so far. The Haryana-cricketer was hammered for piles of runs in the match against Gujarat Giants following which, she would be looking to redeem herself on Monday. She would be eyeing a clean comeback in the upcoming match and leave a mark before the tournament reaches its business end.

Megan Schutt hasn’t impressed in the competition so far with the ball. She claimed a solitary wicket in RCB’s last game giving away 26 runs. While there is a lot for the Australian bowler to improve on the bowling front, she has been impressive with the bat, scoring 50 runs in two innings.

Renuka Thakur has also had a below-par performance as the frontline bowler has so far managed to hit only once.

Shreyanka Pati did not feature in RCB’s opening match but was quick enough to make her way into the playing XI, replacing Asha Shobhana. She has delivered impressive performances in the last two matches and has been handy both with bat and ball. In the last game, Patil scalped two crucial wickets of Gujarat Giants, dismissing the dangerous-looking Sophia Dunkley and Harleen Deol to give RCB some respite.

Predicted Playing XI: Smriti Mandhana (c) , Sophie Devine, Heather Knight, Richa Gosh (wk), Ellyse Perry, Kanika Ahuja, Poonam Khemnar, Preeti Bose, Megan Schutt, Renuka Thakur, Shreyanka Patil

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