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A brilliant half-century by Radha Yadav took Royal Challengers Bengaluru and took them to 182/7 in 20 overs against the Gujarat Giants in the ninth match of the ongoing Women's Premier League (WPL) 2026 at the DY Patil Stadium on Friday.
Batting first, Royal Challengers Bengaluru were off to a fantastic start after speedster Renuka Singh conceded 23 runs in the first over of the match. Twenty-three runs by Renuka Singh were also the most runs off the first over of an innings in WPL. However, in the next over, pacer Kashvee Gautam removed opener Grace Harris, who was adjudged LBW. Harris made 17 off eight balls with the help of four boundaries. After the end of three overs, Bengaluru reached 30/1. Kashvee struck once again during the fourth over. The pacer dismissed Shivani Singh for four runs. In the very next over, RCB lost their captain, Smriti Mandhana, who was dismissed by Renkua Singh. Mandhana made just five runs. The wickets kept falling as Bengaluru lost Gautami Naik during the third ball of the sixth over. Sophie Devine picked up the wicket of Naik, who scored nine runs, including two fours. Bengaluru, who scored 23 runs in the first over, slumped to 45/4 at the end of six overs. Notably, this was the second time that Royal Challengers Bengaluru lost four wickets within the first six overs in the WPL tournament, after they'd scored 47/4 versus Mumbai Indians in this phase at Brabourne in 2023. Wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh and Radha Yadav stabilised Bengaluru's innings as they reached 80/4 at the end of 10 overs. During the 12th over, Radha Yadav and Richa Ghosh completed their 50-run stand for the fifth wicket. During the last ball of the 15th over, Radha Yadav completed her fifty in 36 deliveries. RCB reached 131/4. The duo rescued RCB's innings as they stitched their 100-run partnership during the last ball of the 16th over. Spinner Georgia Wareham broke the much-needed partnership after she dismissed Richa Ghosh during the third ball of the 17th over. During the 19th over, Kashvee conceded 22 runs as RCB reached 178/5. Sophie Devine, who was bowling the 20th over of the first innings, picked up two wickets. She removed Nadine de Klerk (26 off 12 balls, with the help of four boundaries) and Radha Yadav, who played a fantastic knock of 66 off 47 deliveries, including six fours and three sixes, as RCB posted 182/7 on the board. Sophie Devine (3/31), Kashvee Gautam (2/42), Renuka Singh (1/41) and Georgia Wareham (1/35) were among the wicket-takers. Brief scores: Royal Challengers Bengaluru 182/7 in 20 overs (Radha Yadav 66, Richa Ghosh 44; Sophie Devine 3/31) vs Gujarat Giants. (ANI)
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