RCB players go through their paces during during a training session at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Thursday.
Credit: DH Photo/ B K Janardhan
Bengaluru: As imprudent as the exercise to predict an outcome from a form guide involving just two games appears, it still makes sense to give Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) the tag of favourites.
Even if subjective, the logic seems sound enough since they are the defending champions and are yet to lose a game in this edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL).
But, Friday will be telling of just how equipped, or otherwise, Smriti Mandhana’s side is to go the distance because a few hours from the time you read this, they will line up at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium for the first time in nearly a year to face Mumbai Indians.
In the arc of the story running across the timeline from March 4, 2024 (the last time they played in Bengaluru) to February 21, 2025, a lot has transpired for the RCB, including the ouster of Mumbai in the Eliminator and eventually their maiden title.
So, this is the first time these two teams, the champions in the first two editions, will be going at each other since that night at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. As it stands, they both have held on to their identities in structure, composition and, hopefully, execution too.
RCB looked the part by winning their first two games with professional ease, while Mumbai stuttered in their opener before easing into a win in their second game, but that’s typical of how Harmpreet Kaur’s side goes about its business.
The thing with Mumbai is that they have all their bases covered with the likes of Hayley Matthews, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Shabnim Ismail squeezing out their skill sets to offer the best for their side.
RCB is scattered with a fair few of those who possess the same qualities, but their issue resides in their bowling unit. It’s easy to look at their records, the crown, names such as Ellyse Perry and Richa Ghosh - besides Smriti obviously - and overlook the obvious fact that their bowing unit was always going to be a concern, especially since the ropes have been pulled by some distance in this tournament.
In the first game, they conceded 201 runs before the batters atoned for their largesse.
In the second game, they were much better, restricting their opponents to 141 but concerns still persist.
An attentive eye towards their bowling itself will reveal that they are not as formidable as they would have liked it to be.