Gujarat Giants captain Ash Gardner opted to bowl first against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in their WPL 2025 clash, aiming to improve from the bottom of the points table with only one win from four games. They replaced big-hitting Simran Shaikh with top-order batter D Hemalatha. Meanwhile, RCB sought to recover from two close losses, making one change by bringing back rookie legspinner Prema Rawat. Currently third among five teams, RCB hopes to clinch a win to move into the top two, having previously achieved the highest successful chase in WPL against the Giants.
Ash Gardner, the captain of Gujarat Giants, won the toss and chose to bowl in their first reverse fixture against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday evening.
Hemalatha, who has received high praise from Beth Mooney for her role in signing her for Perth Scorchers in the WBBL, is hoping to regain her form. To date, she has made scores of 9, 0, and 4 in her first three appearances before being omitted from the last match against Delhi Capitals.
The 23-year-old Rawat was purchased for an impressive INR 1.2 crore at the auction, mainly to fill in for the injured Asha Sobhana. On her WPL debut, she recorded figures of 1 for 26 in her two overs.
Currently sitting third out of five teams, a win would propel RCB into the top two. In their previous encounter, which took place on the opening night of the season, RCB achieved the highest successful chase in WPL history with Richa Ghosh and Kanika Ahuja powering them to victory.
Gujarat Giants: 1 Beth Mooney (wk), 2 Harleen Deol, 3 D Hemalatha, 4 Ashleigh Gardner (capt), 5 Deandra Dottin, 6 Kashvee Gautam, 7 Phoebe Litchfield, 8 Bharti Fulmali, 9 Tanuja Kanwar, 10 Priya Mishra, 11 Meghna Singh
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 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 Prema Rawat, 11 Renuka Singh