'RCB came into this game knowing they had nothing to lose' - Mithali Raj on RCB-W's win over MI-W in last league match

The league stage of WPL 2025 has come to an end and the playoffs will be starting on Thursday, March 13. The fans got to witness a high-scoring game between the Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women (RCB-W) and the Mumbai Indians Women (MI-W) in the last game before the playoffs where the Women in Red spoiled the party for the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side.

This was also a moment of revenge for RCB-W who had suffered a disappointing loss at home against MI-W in the first fixture between the two teams. Many experts shared their views on the game and how RCB-W completely outplayed the inaugural champions who fell short by 11 runs and could not directly enter the finals. One of the experts who shared her point of view is former India legend Mithali Raj who praised the team for finally executing their plans and mentioned the team had nothing to lose in the last two encounters since they were already eliminated from the tournament.

“I think RCB came into this game knowing they had nothing to lose. They were coming off a loss, but in their previous match, they nearly chased down 225, which showed how well their batting had come together. Today, they posted a strong total of 199. It was great to see Smriti Mandhana back among the runs, alongside impressive performances from Richa Ghosh and Georgia Wareham,” said Raj on JioHotstar.

"The last five overs were crucial, where they scored over 70 runs, finishing their innings on a high. That final flourish made a huge difference. On this wicket, 199 is a competitive total. While it is chaseable, disciplined bowling with tight lines can make it difficult for the opposition. RCB executed their plans well today, and that reflected in the outcome,” the former India skipper added.

Also Read: Mumbai Indians Women vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women, Match 20 - Who Said What?

It’s going to be a very interesting match: Mithali Raj

Mithali Raj also spoke about the upcoming eliminator which will be played between Mumbai Indians Women and Gujarat Giants Women. This will be another do-or-die match for both teams and will also decide the second finalist in the tournament. Raj shed light on how the toss will be important going into this match and what the surface can bring to the table as well. She is also excited to see what the strategies of both skippers will be.

"It’s going to be a very interesting match. From Mumbai Indians' perspective, both times they won the toss—once they successfully defended a total, and the other time, they failed to chase. So, it will be interesting to see what they decide if they win the toss this time. On the other hand, Ashleigh Gardner has always opted to chase whenever she has won the toss. However, Gujarat Giants have also secured a win while defending. It will be fascinating to see how both captains approach their strategy on this pitch, especially with a high-pressure eliminator at stake," said the former World Cup 2017 finalist.