“Utilised the powerplay”: RCB’s Meghana opens up on her match-winning knock vs Gujarat Giants

BENGALURU: Following Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) eight-wicket win against Gujarat Giants (GGT) in the fifth match of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) on Tuesday, Sabbhineni Meghana said that she utilised the powerplay to play her match-winning knock.

While speaking at the post-match presentation, Meghana said that she gained confidence from RCB’s previous match against UP Warriorz, where the batting all-rounder played a 53-run knock.

She revealed that the RCB skipper, Smriti Mandhana, and the team management backed her and asked Meghana to back her strengths.

“I took the confidence from the first game, utilised the powerplay, and it worked well for me. After Smriti got out, I wanted to rotate the strike and give more strikes to Perry. I got a message to calm down, and if there’s a ball to be hit, go for it, otherwise, rotate the strike. I have got a lot of support from Smriti and the team. They have told me to back my strengths. Has allowed me to play my natural game. Definitely yes. I’m a bit more relaxed going at 3. I was looking at Smriti because there’s so much crowd, we can’t hear, I was looking at her for guidance on the field,” Meghana said.

Recapping the match, Smriti Mandhana and Sabbhineni Meghana’s blitzkrieg helped Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) seal a comfortable eight-wicket win over Gujarat Giants (GGT) in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024.

Mandhana and Sophie Devine came on the crease for the Bengaluru-based franchise while chasing a 108-run target. The Mandhana-Devine pair made a 32-run partnership until Ashleigh Gardner dismissed the Kiwi batting allrounder in the fourth over of the game. Devine scored only six runs from six and smashed one four with a strike rate of 100.00.

Meghana played a 36-run knock from 28 balls with a strike rate of 128.57. She slammed five fours and one six in the second inning. Meanwhile, Perry hit four fours, powered RCB to 110/2 and sealed a second consecutive win in the T20 tournament.

Earlier in the first inning, GGT displayed a poor performance in the game and could give a target of only 108 runs, which was easily chased by Mandhana’s side. (ANI)

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