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After winning their opening two WPL 2024 fixtures, Smriti Mandhana-led Royal Challengers Bangalore succumbed to a huge 195-run target set by Delhi Capitals on Thursday, February 29. Despite Smriti Mandhana's 74-run onslaught, RCB lost the game by 25 runs as Shafali Verma and Alice Capsey's 82-run partnership for the second wicket followed by Marizanne Kapp and Jess Jonassen's cameos helped in DC getting success at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
For the unversed, the captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore, Smriti Mandhana, decided to field first at their home ground. Although Sophie Devine managed to pick up the key wicket of the Delhi Capitals captain, Meg Lanning, in the powerplay stage, the second wicket stand of 82 runs between Shafali Verma (50) and Alice Capsey (46) put the hosts well behind the game.
Nadine de Klerk picked up two quick wickets in back-to-back overs of Alice Capsey and Jemimah Rodrigues, who went back to the pavilion without troubling the scorers, to bring RCB back into the contest. But then, a quick-fire 48-run stand for the fifth wicket between Marizanne Kapp (32) and Jess Jonassen (36), helped DC post 194/5 on the board, the highest total of the WPL 2024 season thus far.
Smriti Mandhana took charge of the RCB innings, in pursuit of the 195-run target, stitching together an opening stand of 77 runs with Sophie Devine (23) within the first nine overs of their innings. After Arundhati Reddy picked up the big wicket of Sophie Devine, getting her holed out to Jess Jonassen, the Royal Challengers Bangalore captain kept the required run rate under control.
But, on the last ball of the 12th over, Smriti Mandhana, who had scored 74 off 43 with 10 fours and three maximums, got castled by Marizanne Kapp, putting DC in a good position. Richa Ghosh smashed a couple of sixes in her short stay before Marizanne Kapp snaffled her up at the start of the 16th over, with Royal Challengers Bangalore scorecard reading 138/3.
The wickets kept falling for the RCB as they went on to lose the game by 25 runs, which was also their first loss of the WPL 2024 campaign. With this win, DC clinched the top spot in the standings, while RCB moved down to the second spot.
