Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Gujarat Giants Highlights: Sophie Devine’s blitzkrieg propels RCB to 8-wicket victory over Gujarat | Cricket News

NEW DELHI: Sophia Devine hit 99 off just 36 balls to model Royal Challengers Bangalore’s emphatic eight-wicket victory Gujarat Giants In the Women’s Premier League Saturday at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
After languishing at the bottom of the table so far in the tournament, RCB leapt to fourth place with their second straight win and remained alive in the competition.
Scoreboard | It happened
RCB stormed home with 27 more balls in pursuit of 189. The fury started when Devine caught Ashleigh Gardner to the cleaners when he picked up 24 runs in the second over. RCB sailed to 77/0 inside the powerplay.
Devine and Smrti Mandhana put on 125 in the 10 overs before the RCB skipper was dismissed for 37. But there was no stopping Devine as he made Gujarat bowling look ordinary with his 9 fours and 8 towering sixes including a 94-metre stroke – the biggest of the tournament.
Devine, who also represented New Zealand in hockey before starting cricket as a bowler, often batting at number 11, played an innings that will become one of the best in the history of the T20 format.

Earlier South African star player Laura Wolvaardt top-scored with a scintillating 42-ball 68 before a 22-run final against the Gujarat Giants at 188 for four.
Ashleigh Gardner (41 off 26 balls) also had lively hitting before Harleen Deol (12 not out) and Dayalan Hemalatha (16 not out) ended GG’s innings by smashing a fumbled Megan Schutt for two sixes and two fours.
Chasing a tough target, RCB got off to a flying start with the opening duo of skipper Smriti Mandhana (37) and Sophie Devine sending the GG bowlers on a leather hunt with their breathtaking batting.

While there were countless sixes and fours, the highlight was Devine’s top against left-arm spinner Tanuja Kanwar, smoking her over midwicket for the biggest six of the tournament at 94 metres.
A four and two more sixes followed from Devine’s willow as RCB raced to 125 without loss in just the ninth over.
This was an over after New Zealander Devine beat Harleen Deol for a six-over 86 yards to bring up her half-century from just 20 balls.
100 came up in the eighth over and what had looked like a massive total going into the RCB innings now looked really within reach.

While Mandhana, who also gave Kanwar a hard time hitting her for a six and two fours in an 18-run first over, went out after 37-ball 31, there was no stopping Devine as she punished Ashwani Kumari with a six and a four.
Ultimately, it was Kim Garth who ended Devine’s hitting, but by then she was already pacing RCB’s road to victory.
Previously batting first after Sneh Rana had won the toss, both Sophia Dunkley and Laura Wolvaardt showed positive intentions early on, hitting two bounds each in the first two overs.
However, one ball after hauling Sophie Devine over midwicket for a four, Dunkley’s leg stump was knocked over after the batsman shuffled too far to bowl the shot on a slender leg with a bowl of good length.
Unperturbed by the setback Wolvaardt tried to control the innings and found the fence twice more to take GG to 40 for one in five overs.
Introduced into the offense, Ellyse Perry started on a good note and gave up just a single of her first five balls, before conceding a bound on a half-volley at Brabourne Stadium. Still, it was a good ending on Perry’s part.
Leg spinner Asha Shobana also bowled a tidy first over, conceding, like Perry, only five runs.
Having set her sights in the center after spending some time in between, Sabbhineni Meghana broke the shackles with a bound on Preeti Bose’s first delivery from the eighth over. However, Bose came back well and gave away four runs off her next five balls.
Bose broke the 63-run partnership between Meghana and Wolvaardt when the bowler had Richa Ghosh stop the Indian batsman in what looked like a lazy dismissal.
Ashleigh Gardner came in and got serious straight away, hitting Asha for a long six on although Wolvaardt, at the other end, continued to rack up runs and hit her half-century off 35 balls, hitting the mark with a six on midwicket against Perri.
Wolvaardt then bowled over Megan Schutt, smashing her for a six and a four, but Shreyanka Patil ended her innings when the South African hit a low full bowl straight to Bose at short midwicket.
Gardner then took it upon herself to finish GG’s inning on a high note, hitting a flurry of four before walking out lbw to Patil.
(with PTI inputs)