At the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara, the Gujarat Giants and Royal Challengers Bengaluru played the first game of the WPL 2025 on Friday, February 14. After winning the toss, RCB decided to bowl first. Both teams had undergone several changes since their last meeting.
Thanks to its international players Beth Mooney and Laura Wolvaardt, Gujarat got off to a slow start. However, the latter was dismissed for a meagre six runs during the 35-run partnership. Dayalan Hemalatha was dismissed for four runs off nine balls because she was unable to get going. Gujarat had to rebuild the innings after finding themselves at 41/2 in 6.4 overs.
And they rebuilt. Mooney shared the third wicket with captain Ashleigh Gardner, scoring 44 runs between them.
But shortly after hitting fifty, Mooney (56 off 42) was caught sharply at mid-wicket by Smriti Mandhana. Deandra Dottin came out determined to keep the momentum of the innings going, scoring a scorching 25 off 13 deliveries. Gardner was doing well at the other end, scoring boundaries on a regular basis.
Gujarat scored 201/5 in their 20 overs thanks to a bit of a cameo from Simran Shaikh (11 off 5 balls) at the end of the innings and Gardner’s assault (79* off 37 balls). Renuka Singh was the top bowler for RCB-W, with 2/25 in her four overs.
RCB-W’s response did not get off to a good start. Danni Wyatt-Hodge (4 off 4) and Mandhana (9 off 7) did not score. To move the innings along, though, the remaining batters clicked. The squad was able to successfully chase the 200+ target with nine balls remaining because to half-centuries from Ellyse Perry (57 off 34) and Richa Ghosh (64* off 27), as well as important knocks from Raghvi Bist (25 off 27) and Kanika Ahuja (30* off 13).
With scores of 2/33, Ashleigh Gardner, the skipper of Gujarat, was the most impressive bowler. The game was ultimately won by RCB-W with six wickets remaining.
Here’s how X reacted to RCB-W’s win against GJ-W –
Absolute winning shot by GHOST Richa
#WPL2025 #GGvsRCB #ನಮ್ಮRCBpic.twitter.com/0MvLQlSp3i
— 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞
(@Supreme7999) February 14, 2025
ಐತಿಹಾಸಿಕ
#GGvsRCB #WPL2025 pic.twitter.com/uwU82lG59Q
— Karnataka Sports Fans (@karnataka_sport) February 14, 2025
Ellyse Perry Queen Of Wpl
.
LAST 8 INNINGS OF PERRY IN WPL
– 44*(38).
– 58(37).
– 24(23).
– 49(32).
– 40*(38) in Must win vs MI.
– 66(50) in Eliminator.
– 35*(37) in 2024 Final.
– 57(34) at Today.#EllysePerry #wpllive #GGvRCB #GGvsRCB #rcbvgg pic.twitter.com/3x4UzwAxNM— ranjeet rathore (@IamRanajeet) February 14, 2025
What a cracking opening game in the #TataWPL Now reaching its climax! Gosh! How good is Richa Gosh!
#JioHotstar
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) February 14, 2025
Wonderful entertainment to open #WPL2025 . Fielding errors or not, it was a stunning effort in the run chase from Richa Gosh & Kanika Ahuja . Kudos to broadcasters who brought the game to life.
— Ian Raphael Bishop (@irbishi) February 14, 2025
The #WPL is fantastic .. What a great chase for the @RCBTweets team .. The crowd and energy this tournament brings is great for the game .. #India
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) February 14, 2025
India
