The buildup to the inaugural season of the WPL saw the fans eager for a stellar performance from RCB. After all, they had bagged some major matchwinners in Ellyse Perrie, Sophie Devine and Renuka Thakur among many others. But the most exciting prospect was RCB bagging the face of women’s cricket in India, Smriti Mandhana, as their captain(apologies to Harmanpreet Kaur). And just like for RCB in the men’s IPL, the fan following grew large and wide. And just like the men’s team, they didn’t live up to their expectations.
2023 Campaign
They started the season abysmally, losing every single one of their first five games. They never seemed to recover from the massive 60-run defeat they faced against the Delhi Capitals. When their bowling went awry, they batted decently, and when their batting collapsed, the bowling simply couldn’t restrict their opponents. While they did go on to win two of their last three matches to marginally avoid the infamous wooden spoon finish, they failed to qualify for the playoffs.
What went wrong?
There were multiple reasons for such a campaign, from way too expensive bowling figures to regular middle-order collapses; it’s a season RCB and their fans would want to forget. But what would perhaps hurt them the most was the misfiring Smriti Mandhana, who failed to capitalise on starts and was striking at a lowly 111.19 with 149 runs in the 8 matches they played. The latter is an issue that has been haunting Mandhana throughout her career, and with newer players focusing on striking at a good pace, Mandhana needs to up the ante.
Another problem RCB faced, like their male counterparts, was the constant chopping and changing of lineups. With a newly revamped team of fresh talents, including Kate Cross and Ekta Bisht, who has had a great domestic circuit run and is an experienced campaigner, it is to be seen whether they will find a stable XI. Smriti mentioned in an interview with TOI that while she didn’t know 90 per cent of her team due to joining only 2 days before the tournament, this time she believes she knows the strengths and weaknesses of her team, even recommending a few names to the franchise after playing domestic with some of the women. This could mean a fresh start for the girls in red.
For RCB to turn their fortunes around, they will have to come together as a unit and play some fearless cricket, and if Smriti can lead by example and set the tone for matches as an opener, RCB could end up being a force to reckon with. The enthralling WPL starts on 23rd February, with RCB’s opening match against the Uttar Pradesh Warriors.
