WPL 2024/25, RCB-W vs GG-W 12th Match Match Preview

WPL 2024/25, RCB-W vs GG-W 12th Match Match Preview

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The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) face off against the Gujarat Giants at M Chinnaswamy Stadium after both teams suffered recent losses. RCB has been strong overall in WPL 2025, despite two narrow defeats, and aims to regain momentum, especially with a strong home record against the Giants. The Giants, struggling again at the bottom of the table, are reliant on Ashleigh Gardner and Deandra Dottin but have issues in their batting lineup, including the worst run rate this season. Key players to watch are Ellyse Perry for RCB, leading the run charts, and Kashvee Gautam, a standout bowler for the Giants.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Giants
M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, 7.30pm IST

What to anticipate: Will the Giants regain their form?

Both teams are coming off consecutive defeats, yet their situations are quite different. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have performed admirably in WPL 2025, but they are under significant pressure as they prepare to take on the Gujarat Giants at home.

After securing two impressive victories, RCB faced a narrow loss to the Mumbai Indians on the penultimate ball of the match, followed by another heartbreak against UP Warriorz in a Super Over, despite having control for much of the game. In cricket, momentum can be a fickle friend. While a string of victories can boost confidence, losses can be a significant setback. After two painful defeats, RCB is eager to return to winning ways, especially as the tournament approaches its critical phase.
RCB boasts a solid record against the Giants, having won three out of five encounters, including a convincing victory in this season’s opener. Moreover, they have never lost to the Giants on their home turf. With the current holders of both the purple and orange caps, RCB will be keen to ascend the points table before concluding their Bengaluru leg.
Conversely, the Giants are grappling with multiple issues. After finishing at the bottom of the standings in WPL 2023 and 2024, they find themselves in a similar situation this season. They rely heavily on Ashleigh Gardner and Deandra Dottin, both of whom have struggled in the last two matches.

Their struggles begin at the top of the batting order. The Giants boast the lowest run rate (5.79), have scored the fewest runs, hit the least number of boundaries (16 fours and four sixes), and lost the most wickets (11) during the powerplay this season. With Beth Mooney out of form and Harleen Deol not being a natural aggressor, should Gardner or Dottin be promoted up the order to take a more aggressive approach?

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: LLWW (last four matches, most recent first)
Gujarat Giants: LWLL

It seems unlikely that RCB will alter their playing XI from the previous match against Warriorz.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (likely): 1 Smriti Mandhana (capt), 2 Danni Wyatt-Hodge, 3 Ellyse Perry, 4 Raghvi Bist, 5 Richa Ghosh (wk), 6 Kanika Ahuja, 7 Georgia Wareham, 8 Sneh Rana, 9 Kim Garth, 10 Ekta Bisht, 11 Renuka Singh

In their previous match, the Giants made three changes to their playing XI but didn’t have Phoebe Litchfield open the innings. There’s a possibility she could move to the top with Harleen Deol shifting to the No. 3 spot. Simran Shaikh has yet to make a significant impact in the tournament, prompting the Giants to potentially bring in Dayalan Hemalatha to strengthen their batting lineup.

Gujarat Giants (likely): 1 Beth Mooney (wk), 2 Phoebe Litchfield, 3 Harleen Deol, 4 Ashleigh Gardner (capt), 5 Deandra Dottin, 6 Dayalan Hemalatha, 7 Bharti Fulmali, 8 Kashvee Gautam, 9 Tanuja Kanwar, 10 Priya Mishra, 11 Meghna Singh

Key players: Ellyse Perry and Kashvee Gautam

Ellyse Perry appears to have stepped up her game with the bat in WPL 2025. With 235 runs in four innings at an impressive average of 117.50, she surpassed Meg Lanning to become WPL’s all-time leading run-scorer in the last match. Although she entered the tournament recovering from a hip injury and did not bowl in RCB’s first three games, she bowled two overs against the Warriorz and took a wicket. If she can contribute with four overs, it would enhance the balance of the RCB squad.
Despite an otherwise challenging tournament, Kashvee Gautam has emerged as a bright spot for the Giants. Retained by the team after being ruled out of the previous season due to an injury, she had a standout performance. Initially, she struggled against RCB, conceding 22 runs in her two overs, but redeemed herself in the subsequent three matches, taking five wickets at an impressive economy rate. Among bowlers who have bowled a minimum of 30 balls this WPL, Gautam’s economy of 6.00 ranks as the fourth-best. In addition to her 15-ball 20 against Mumbai, she has not made a significant contribution with the bat and may need to improve in that area.

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