But the overall balance, especially in batting, and bowling gives RCB a slight edge over Delhi
Smriti Mandhana (Pic: X)
Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Smriti Mandhana stuck to the trend of captains opting to chase in the ongoing WPL 2023, after winning the toss against Delhi Capitals on Monday. All three games of this season so far have been won by teams chasing.
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RCB made one change, bringing in left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht in place of Prema Rawat. For DC, Marizanne Kapp and Jess Jonassen come back into the team in place of Alice Capsey and Nikki Yadav.
Defending champions Royal Challengers brushed aside Gujarat Giants by six wickets in the opening game, while the Capitals had to go through a last-ball thriller before notching a win over Mumbai Indians.
But the overall balance, especially in batting, and bowling gives RCB a slight edge over Delhi.
Their batting strength was on full display when the Smriti Mandhana-led side chased down a 200-plus target without much ado.
They have been bolstered by the addition of young talents like Raghavi Bist, Kanika Ahuja, who have seamlessly blended with seniors Mandhana, Ellyse Perry, Richa Ghosh and Danny Wyatt.
Both Kanika and Bist had played excellent roles too in the team's win over GG.
However, they might just hope for a tidier effort from their bowlers, and Perry abstaining from bowling has reduced their efficiency a bit in that department.
The Aussie star is recovering from a hip injury that she sustained during the recent Women's Ashes, and will not be bowling at least in the initial stages of the WPL.
So, RCB will need a heftier contribution from experienced Kim Garth and Georgia Wareham, as both leaked plenty of runs against Gujarat.
They would also like to see youngsters VJ Joshitha and Prema Rawat too step up and support seasoned Renuka Singh.
It is imperative because Delhi has a fiery batting unit consisting of skipper Meg Lanning, Annabel Sutherland, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Alice Capsey and Sarah Bryce.
They did not deliver as desired in a middling chase against Mumbai, but they will be looking to atone for that blip against a relatively more inexperienced bowling lineup of RCB.
The Bengaluru outfit will have their task cut out against Delhi bowlers, led by veteran pacer Shikha Pandey, as they did well to restrict Mumbai to 164 in the previous match.
However, the RCB batting line-up could offer them a vastly different challenge.
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