WPL 2023: RCB-W vs GUJ-W 16th Match - Predicted Royal Challengers Bangalore Women Playing XI vs Gujarat Giants Women

Royal Challengers Bangalore Women will face Gujarat Giants Women in the 16th match of the Women's Premier League 2023 (WPL) at Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium on March 18. Both teams won their respective last games to remain in the hunt for the eliminator.

Royal Challengers beat UP Warriorz by five wickets to register their first win in WPL 2023 and jumped to the fourth position on the points table. But, Giants pushed RCB back to the bottom with an 11-run win over Delhi Capitals in their last game. Both teams need a win in the upcoming game to remain in the race for the Eliminator spot which makes for a thrilling mouth-watering clash on Saturday.

With just two group-stage matches remaining, RCB will be looking to build on the momentum from their most recent win. Although captain Smriti Mandhana and star pacer Renuka Singh are yet to make an impact, the management is unlikely to tinker with their playing XI for the upcoming game.

Here’s Royal Challengers Bangalore’s predicted XI for the match against Gujarat Giants:

Openers: Smriti Mandhana (c), Sophie Devine

Smriti Mandhana's poor run with the bat continued as she was bowled out on a duck against UP Warriorz in the last game. The RCB skipper has so far scored just 88 runs from six innings at an average of 14.66 and at a strike rate of 112.82, with 35 as her highest score. Considering the importance of the game, the star Indian batter needs to be at her best against Gujarat Giants.

New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine was excellent with the ball against UP Warriorz, picking up the big wickets of Alyssa Healy and Devika Vaidya. Devine also started well while batting and smashed a six and a four but failed to convert it into a big knock.

Middle Order: Ellyse Perry, Heather Knight, Richa Ghosh (wk), Kanika Ahuja, Disha Kasat

Ellyse Perry scored just 10 runs against UP Warriorz in the last game but had an impactful outing with the ball, picking up three important wickets. She took the valuable wickets of Deepti Sharma and Grace Harris and conceded only 16 runs in the process. Perry has been RCB's best performer so far with 205 runs and three wickets from six innings of WPL 2023.

Heather Knight scored 24 crucial runs off 21 balls against UP Warriorz but didn't get a chance to bowl. She has been inconsistent with her performance so far, amassing just 101 runs and four wickets.

Richa Ghosh scored the winning runs against UP Warrioz in the last game as she remained unbeaten on 31 off 32 deliveries while successfully chasing 135 runs. After a disastrous start, Richa showed glimpses of her quality batting in the last two games and has scored a total of 109 runs from six innings so far.

Disha Kasat didn't get a chance to bat for the second consecutive time with Kanika Ahuja and Shreyanka Patil being preferred over her in the batting order. A fit-again Kanika returned to the playing XI against UP Warriorz and played a match-winning knock of 46 off 30 to win the 'Player of the Match' award.

All-rounder: Shreyanka Patil

The 20-year-old spin all-rounder is enjoying her breakthrough time in WPL 2023 having made a name for herself with three wickets and 58 runs from five innings of which, she remained unbeaten in three. In the last match, Patil took a wicket against UP Warriorz but had an otherwise expensive outing, conceding runs at an economy rate of 14.00. 

Bowlers: Megan Schutt, Renuka Singh, Sobhana Asha

Megan Schutt dismissed the world no.1 T20I batter Tahlia McGrath on just two runs as she bowled an impressive spell of one for 21 against UP Warriorz in the last game. She has taken just three wickets from five innings so far but remains a key bowler for her side.

Renuka Singh endured another poor spell as she failed to get a wicket against UP Warriorz in the last match. She was restricted to just two overs as she conceded runs at an economy rate of 10.00. Renuka has taken just one wicket from six innings in WPL 2023 and has a rather dismal economy rate of 9.54.

Experienced leg-spinner Sobhana Asha was impressive against UP Warriorz with two timely wickets against 27 runs from her four-over spell. Asha took four wickets from her last two innings and will be looking to make a similar impact against Gujarat Giants on Saturday.

Royal Challengers Bangalore Predicted XI: Smriti Mandhana (c), Sophie Devine, Ellyse Perry, Heather Knight, Richa Ghosh (wk), Kanika Ahuja, Disha Kasat, Shreyanka Patil, Megan Schutt, Renuka Singh, Sobhana Asha