What a thrilling start to the season, but unfortunately, it wasn’t the result we were hoping for. Ashleigh Gardner gave an incredible all-round performance, but it wasn’t enough as RCB chased down a big total to start their title defense with a win.
After being put into bat, Beth Mooney gave us a fantastic start by hitting boundaries early in the innings, helping us race to 35 in no time. However, we quickly lost Laura Wolvaardt and Dayalan Hemalatha, which slowed the momentum. That’s when Ashleigh Gardner joined Beth in the middle, and together, they steadied the innings. By the end of the 9th over, we were 53 for 2.
Beth Mooney led from the front, reaching her fifty and anchoring the innings beautifully. When it looked like she would take us to an even bigger score, she got out against the run of play. However, Gardner took charge from there. After starting cautiously, she shifted gears in style, smashing three sixes in the 14th over to announce her intent. She didn’t stop there, hitting a total of eight sixes in her remarkable knock of 79 runs from just 37 balls. Deandra Dottin also played a valuable hand, and together, they powered us to a massive total of 201 in 20 overs.
Gardner’s brilliance didn’t end with the bat. She came to bowl and struck twice in her very first over, dismissing RCB’s captain Smriti Mandhana and Danielle Wyatt-Hodge. Those quick wickets put RCB on the back foot. However, Ellyse Perry and Raghvi Bist fought back with an 86-run partnership, with Perry scoring a quick 57. Even then, our bowlers didn’t give up. Dottin dismissed Bisht, and Sayali Satghare got the big wicket of Perry to put us back in control.
Just when it looked like we might pull off the win, Richa Ghosh and Kanika Ahuja turned the game around. They played fearless cricket, hitting boundaries at will and chasing the target in just 18.3 overs. Richa was exceptional, scoring 64 not out off just 27 balls, while Kanika’s 30 off 13 balls gave RCB the edge they needed.
While we’re proud of the fight we showed, a few dropped catches cost us dearly in the end. It’s a tough loss to take, but there are plenty of positives to build on. We’ll regroup and aim to bounce back stronger in our next game against UP Warriorz on Sunday. Do join us then!
