Twitter Reactions: Royal Challengers Bangalore suffer third consecutive loss as Gujarat Giants claim first win

Gujarat Giants earned their first of the tournament after defeating RCB by 11 runs.

Published - 08 Mar 2023, 23:00 IST | Updated - 08 Mar 2023, 22:57 IST

14 Min Read

Gujarat Giants clinched their first victory in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) as they beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 11 runs. The two sides crossed swords in Match 6 of the WPL at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday, March 8.

Sneh Rana-led Giants won the toss and decided to put up a target in the first innings. Though Gujarat were handed a blow in the form of Sabbhineni Meghana’s dismissal, Sophia Dunkley and Harleen Deol took the onus of scoring the big runs.

The duo hit the ground running swiftly and found the boundaries consistently. Dunkley breathed fire and stole the show as she amassed her first half-century which interestingly was the fastest thus far in the WPL. Dunkley score her fifty in just 18 balls with nine boundaries and two maximums to her name.

Meanwhile, Harleen too notched up a half-century (67 off 45 balls) before she was sent packing by Shreyanka Patil. Dunkley too was dismissed for 65 runs in 28 balls after she batted at a stunning strike rate of 232.14. The side eventually posted a total of 201/7 runs as Heather Knight and Patil racked up two wickets each.

RCB fire in mammoth run chase, but fall short of the target

With the equation in place, RCB simply required a collective performance which could make their job easier in the run chase. The side pinned their hopes on skipper Smriti Mandhana and veteran star Sophie Devine to fire in the mammoth run chase.

However, Mandhana yet again faltered as she could only get 18 runs to her name in 14 balls as Ashleigh Gardner got her scalp. On the other hand, Devine began shifting gears and smashed the ball over the boundary ropes on numerous occasions. With this, the batter got her fifty in 36 balls with little help coming from Ellyse Perry who got 32 runs off 25 balls.

However, Perry’s dismissal meant that the onus was on Devine to steer the side to a potential win. Though she tried hard to score the maximums, a mis-timed shot led to her heading back to the dugout after scoring 66 runs off 45 balls. Heather Knight (30* off 11) too tried to put up a fight down the order but the side fell short. Thus, the Giants handed RCB their loss on the trot, thereby winning their first game of the tournament.

Here is how Twitter buzzed during the clash-

Aru💫@Aru_Ro45

Another day another failure for RCB. 3 back to back defeats. #GGvRCB

10:56 PM · Mar 08, 2023

Picasso@6icasso

Respect for Rana jii , she is injured still playing...she is not captain.... she is leader....win it ma'am.. #WPL2023 #RCBvGG

10:07 PM · Mar 08, 2023

Amit Singh@toamisin

Why is Heather Knight batting so low in the order? Should come 1 down for me. Use Perry as an accelerator instead of Richa Ghosh #RCBvGG #WPL2023

10:34 PM · Mar 08, 2023

yatin suryawanshi@yatinsuryawans3

Bhai yeah #Rcb ko konsa curse hai ? Na mens team jeet rhe hai na womens team 🥲!! #RCBvGG

10:34 PM · Mar 08, 2023

Shubham Shrivastava@Walkingmiless

Ab dheere dheere samajh mein aa raha hai Virat bhaiya pe kya beetti hogi 🥲 #WPL2023 #RCBvGG #GGvRCB

10:34 PM · Mar 08, 2023

Gaurav Nandan Tripathi 🜃@Cric_Beyond_Ent

RCB just might lose this game because of their erroneous selections. Komal Zanzad in place of Preeti Bose would have made their team so well balanced ! Their team construction errors will ensure they’ll find it very hard to make the next stage of the competition. #RCBvGG #WPL2023

10:33 PM · Mar 08, 2023

Ankit@i_m_born2fly

The only divine left of RCB in this match is, "Sophie Devine "....! #RCBvGG #RCBWvsGGW

10:33 PM · Mar 08, 2023

Atul Tiwari@iTiwariAtul

RCB is struggling to find the right momentum.. Be it while chasing or defending, inconsistency & lack of intent is making the team suffer. Again a defeat. Feel for the fans. #RCBvGG #GGvRCB #WPL2023 #WPL #TATAWPL

10:33 PM · Mar 08, 2023

Neel@criccrazychokli

From being the best team on Paper after Auction to being worst while playing. RCB never fails to win hearts only thing they fail is to win cup🥳 #WPL2023 #RCBvGG #RoyalChallengersBangalore

10:33 PM · Mar 08, 2023

Shibashis Chatterjee@Iamshibashis

1st player to score a 50 for each #WPL team Mumbai Indians Harmanpreet Kaur Delhi Capitals Shafali Verma UP Warriorz Kiran Navgire Gujarat Giants Sohpia Dunkley Royal Challengers Bangalore Sophie Devine