Following Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) eight-wicket win against Gujarat Giants (GGT) in the fifth match of the Women's Premier League (WPL) on Tuesday at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, GGT skipper Beth Mooney opined that she might drop herself into the middle-order if she is not able to perform in the future.
Mooney asserted that she doesn't believe in form in T20s. If our team starts scoring in the next two games then everyone will forget our performance in the first two matches, she said. "That it's over. I don't have much for you Mel. Defending low totals on these wickets is always tough with the batting RCB have got. I will have to go back to the drawing board. I don't believe in form in this format, if we start scoring runs in the next two games, then everyone will forget the first two. Perhaps we're just not taking the high percentage options at the right time. We have to score through the middle-overs, we need wickets in the shed for that as well. We need to get 140," Mooney said in the post-match presentation," she said. The Australian opener further stated that the girls in the team have been picked-up for a reason and they have to back their skill-sets. "We thought RCB had a few spinners in the middle, we thought it would free her up in the middle but unfortunately it did not work. I might drop myself down the order if I don't get going. T20 is a fickle game and things can change pretty quickly, so I need to wait for that. There's not a whole lot we're doing wrong, just coming across some good batting and bowling. The girls in the group have been picked up for a reason, they need to believe in their skill-set. We can't keep changing players every year and expect to set the world on fire. We need to stick to the players and get them to perform as individuals and as a collective," the left-hand batter added. Recapping the match, Smriti Mandhana and Sabbhineni Meghana's blitzkrieg knocks helped RCB seal a comfortable eight-wicket win over GGT in the WPL 2024. Mandhana and Sophie Devine came on the crease for the Bengaluru-based franchise while chasing a 108-run target. The Mandhana-Devine pair made a 32-run partnership until Ashleigh Gardner dismissed the Kiwi batting allrounder in the fourth over of the game. Devine scored only six runs from six and smashed one four with a strike rate of 100.00. Meghana played a 36-run knock from 28 balls with a strike rate of 128.57. She slammed five fours and one six in the second inning. Meanwhile, Perry hit four fours and powered RCB to 110/2 and sealed a second consecutive win in the T20 tournament. Earlier in the first inning, GGT displayed a poor performance in the game and could give a target of only 108 runs, which was easily chased by Mandhana's side. (ANI)
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